Altair
Case Studies
Optimising Industrial Valve Block for Additive Manufacturing: A Case Study of VTT and Nurmi Cylinders
Overview
Optimising Industrial Valve Block for Additive Manufacturing: A Case Study of VTT and Nurmi CylindersAltair |
Functional Applications - Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) | |
Equipment & Machinery Metals | |
Product Research & Development Sales & Marketing | |
Additive Manufacturing Rapid Prototyping | |
Operational Impact
The project resulted in the successful design and manufacture of an optimised valve block using Additive Manufacturing. The optimised design was smaller, lighter and had improved internal channels compared to traditionally manufactured valve blocks. The project also resulted in the creation of design rules for Selective Laser Melting (SLM), including guidelines for designing oval or diamond shape channels instead of circular ones, and for running internal channels at a ~45° angle to the base plate to reduce the number of external supports needed. These design rules can be used to optimise the design of other components for SLM, saving time and money spent on support removal in the post-processing phase. | |