Additive and Subtractive Manufacturing of Composites

Friction Welding (FW) is an efficient and reliable joining process which has potential to encounter challenges by composite materials having widely variable physical characteristics. This paper presents a detailed review on the composite materials, critical parameters, response parameters, optimization studies and future prospects of friction welding. It was observed that FW has several benefits over conventional types in context with environment, economical and performance aspects. FW has wide applications in industries like aerospace, marine, shaft fabrication, rods, pipes on almost all metals and composites. In addition to this, square bars can also be welded using this technique. From a performance point of view, it was observed that the process parameters that affect the performance of FW were speed, friction pressure or axial force, welding time etc. The bond strength directly depends upon the axial force applied; welding time has major influence on hardness and burn off length but it does alter the tensile strength and bending strength. Furthermore, welding time is inversely proportional to the fatigue limits and tensile strength. The review acts as torch bearer for potential researchers working in similar areas. The scope of hybrid welding can be extended to industry 4.0 through an autonomous control system.

In modern industries, the demand of light-weight materials is increasing day by day, which can be fulfilled by the developing new generation composite materials. This study aims to evaluate the effect of controllable variables like cutting speed, feed, depth of cut, coating thickness and chromium contents on the surface roughness, tool wear rate and material removal rate while turning Al/SiC/Cr composites with coated carbide tool. The composites are formulated through stir casting. The multiple objective optimizations are performed using Taguchi method followed by grey relation analysis and improvement in grey relation grade is calculated. The ANOVA is performed, and the significant parameters are identified and ranked accordingly. The results reveal that the optimal value obtained for material removal rate is 15674.32 mm³/min having surface roughness and tool wear rate of 0.39 μm and 0.917 mg/min respectively. The results are validated by comparing the predicted value of grey relation grade with the experimental value.

Additive manufacturing (AM), also referred as 3D printing, is becoming the backbone of the industrial production system to manufacture cost-effective, lighter, more robust, and reliable structural components. This paper aims to quickly review the research progress of ultrasonic vibration-assisted AM of metals and composites. Standardized methods of ultrasonic vibration addition into the AM processes have been dealt including a thorough discussion of their effects on metal’s and composite’s properties. This work also emphasizes the milestones in the ultrasonic vibration-assisted manufacturing techniques in terms of its importance of integration and mode of applications to enhance and smoothen the production process. Further, it will be observed how the process variants in ultrasonic AM have induced the functionality and embraced for a wide range of production.

In additive manufacturing, selective laser melting (SLM) and electron beam machining (EBM) are two key processes which are widely used for fabrication of Ti6Al4V based products. These fabricated products having outstanding properties are widely employed in automotive, aerospace, marine, biomedical as well as offshore applications. This chapter compares SLM and EBM along with different process parameters, which are involved for processing of Ti6Al4V structures. For deep understanding and to analyze the potential as well as capability of Ti6Al4V structures, their microstructure and mechanical properties are also discussed. Related literature review with key focus is also presented and analyzed. As per these analyses, the challenges and their solutions are presented for improvements.

Unique properties such as high strength, wear and fatigue resistance at high temperatures have made superalloys best candidate materials for the aerospace industry. On the other hand, the development of composite materials particularly metal matrix composites (MMCs) have comparable properties to superalloys and have an advantage of being lightweight and high strength to wear ratio. A significant application involves the use of superalloys and composites in aerospace gas turbine components used in high-temperature applications. The mechanical machining of these materials is difficult due to higher tool wear and low material removal rate. Laser drilling is a well-established manufacturing process utilised to produce holes in various aeroengine components, in particular high-pressure turbine blades, combustors and nozzle guide vanes. High-value manufacturing industries always aim to improve process efficiency and produce parts at the lowest possible cost without affecting product quality. Taking into account the significance of these factors this chapter focuses on material removal volume, different hole quality attributes and manufacturing cost as performance measures to study the impacts of laser drilling process parameters for the selected materials. Conclusively, some future perspectives concerning the use of laser drilling are highlighted, specifically with advancements in science and technology.

Composite material is a material made by the combination of two or more constituent materials with considerably distinct properties resulting in a material that presents chemical and physical properties that are not seem in any traditional material part. The wide range of chemical and mechanical properties creates the possibility of their application in many different industries. However, the same characteristics that make these materials stand out as high quality material also increase the complexity of their manufacturing processes specially when it comes to subtractive manufacturing. Therefore, this presented review chapter intends to provide a literature survey of the state of the art and the main challenges to be overcome in the subtractive manufacturing of composite material. The characteristics of the main types of machining process and new emerging technologies and their application on the manufacturing processes of Polymer Matrix Composites (MMCs), Metal Matrix Composites (MMCs) and Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMCs) are discussed.

The composite material field is extending its boundaries towards the development of lightweight designs and high performance applications for various branches of engineering. Current days demand for development of sustainable lightweight materials has resulted in higher volume usage of thermoplastic based composites. There exists various type of traditional manufacturing methods based on type of reinforcements and matrix material, but these labor-oriented methods have certain disadvantages while fabricating complex structures. To overcome these drawbacks, researchers pointed out a flexible manufacturing process called Additive Manufacturing (AM). AM technique involves the fabrication of layer by layer printing of filaments to produce three dimensional complex composite parts and it produces the parts directly by reading the CAD data file. The AM way of manufacturing approach utilizes different thermoplastic-based materials for the design and production of application-oriented parts using various fibre reinforcements. This review deals with the study of mechanical, thermal and electrical properties of thermoplastic composites which are produced using various AM techniques and lists out their potential applications. The advantages of various AM techniques are also quoted in the development of thermoplastic composite in the subsequent sections. Further, the researchers are putting continuous efforts for the development of new thermoplastic composites using various AM techniques to achieve higher service life, bioactivity and cell growth with higher mechanical properties.

Additive manufacturing (AM) is a novel approach which offers serious advantages over conventional subtractive manufacturing techniques. Minimum resource wastage and quick fabrication are the primary benefits of additive manufacturing. In the recent years, intensive research in additive manufacturing has led to development in new materials, methods and technologies. Because of this, additive manufacturing has entered into various industries. The growth of additive manufacturing has also led to the growth of many dependent industries. The additive manufacturing applications can be categorized either on the basis of printing material used or on the basis of the printing technique implemented. This chapter is a comprehensive study of the various applications of additive manufacturing in diverse fields. Some possible future applications will also be discussed keeping in mind the present technological advancement. However, additive manufacturing is still in its preliminary stage of growth because of some limitations. This chapter will highlight the importance of additive manufacturing and encourage the need for future research.

Additive Manufacturing (AM) enables the manufacture of three-dimensional components and products out of raw materials and three-dimensional design data. AM is also known as 3D printing is a set of emerging technologies that can be seen as a future of manufacturing. The ability of additive manufacturing in manufacturing complex products makes it more popular. Nowadays, many companies like aerospace, automotive, and healthcare industries are moving towards additive manufacturing for assembling their products. Many researches are being conducted in additive manufacturing to increase its efficiency. This chapter is a comprehensive study on future trends and technologies in additive manufacturing. Also, shows a comparison between additive manufacturing and subtractive manufacturing on different grounds. The article highlights the techniques that are currently being used in additive manufacturing and its future trends. The techniques include photopolymer, deposition, lamination, powder-based, etc. The trends in a number of papers published in additive manufacturing are shown. Both local and overseas research activities on additive manufacturing have been focusing on new processes, new materials, new software capabilities, and new applications of the emerging additive manufacturing technology. The article also includes predictions on the market value of additive manufacturing in its different sectors like hardware, software, materials, post-processing, etc.