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3d printed turbo
davidimurray - 1/5/14 at 06:16 PM

Wow

http://youtu.be/DNedUZxP8NU

Note the comment " we 3d print the internal moving parts inside the housing so the come ready assembled"

Clever stuff!

bi22le - 1/5/14 at 08:12 PM

Pretty impressive. IT must be ++ expensive, interesting they decided to make it in stainless not titanium!

No maintenance either. Just fit a new turbo each time.

Grimsdale - 2/5/14 at 10:35 AM

I'd love to see them doing it. Needs a little more explanation, although i doubt they're that keen on letting competitors know. I'm sure however that the impeller and bearings wont be made at the same time!

davidimurray - 2/5/14 at 10:49 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Grimsdale
I'd love to see them doing it. Needs a little more explanation, although i doubt they're that keen on letting competitors know. I'm sure however that the impeller and bearings wont be made at the same time!


Obviously couldn't do the bearings, but can't see any reason why you couldn't make the impeller inside the housing if using something like SLS.

mcerd1 - 2/5/14 at 11:57 AM

quote:
Originally posted by davidimurray
but can't see any reason why you couldn't make the impeller inside the housing if using something like SLS.


would SLS make an impeller strong enough to withstand 60000 rpm or more at hundreds of degrees C and not suffer from creep in the process....

to avoid creep on the jet turbines they go as far as casting each blade as a single crystal - I don't know for sure, but I'd think SLS or similar methods would give you more crystal boundaries than just a bog std. casting...

coyoteboy - 2/5/14 at 12:03 PM

SLM (different to SLS) can make 100% dense parts now, should be no problem at all if you can get powder form of the base material. However they will still need finishing as far as I can tell, as the finish is never great even on the most expensive parts made on a £1m machine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4odUhDjKHzo#t=291

The extremes a gas turbine blade sees are massive in comparison with a turbo blade, turbos are pretty much agricultural in comparison.

[Edited on 2/5/14 by coyoteboy]

Grimsdale - 2/5/14 at 12:52 PM

quote:
Originally posted by mcerd1
quote:
Originally posted by davidimurray
but can't see any reason why you couldn't make the impeller inside the housing if using something like SLS.


would SLS make an impeller strong enough to withstand 60000 rpm or more at hundreds of degrees C and not suffer from creep in the process....

to avoid creep on the jet turbines they go as far as casting each blade as a single crystal - I don't know for sure, but I'd think SLS or similar methods would give you more crystal boundaries than just a bog std. casting...


As far as i'm aware, you'd only be able to put down one type of material at one time, and the metal used for the housing would never be used for the impellor. As mcerd1 says, there are many factors within the microstructure and processing history that confer strength and corrosion/oxidation resistance than purely the chemical composition of the metal.

[Edited on 2/5/14 by Grimsdale]

coyoteboy - 2/5/14 at 06:22 PM

You can lay down different materials in thew same build and you can create functionally gradiented parts where you can go from one alloy at one location to another alloy (or another entirely different metal) at the two ends of the same part. You just blend the powder feed material and pick metals that mix when melted.