On July 15, 2019, British fluid power system manufacturer Domin partnered with metal 3D printing expert Renishaw to redevelop some of its products. High-performance direct-drive servo valves for converting signals into pressure are redesigned and manufactured using 3D printing technology to become smaller, cheaper and more efficient. Renishaw's metal powder bed fusion printer RenAM 500Q has been used to produce redesigned rotary valves.
Hydrodynamic systems use liquids or gases under pressure to generate and transfer energy. Pressurized fluid bearings work directly on pistons in fluid motors. The fluid motor then generates torque to rotate the fluid. To regulate the system, valves are used as control components. Compared to mechanical or electrical drives, fluid power systems are more compact, have a longer service life, and enable more precise control. The main applications of fluid power are formula racing, aerospace, automotive, mobile hydraulic and industrial plants.
Additive manufacturing in the field of fluid power
Various industries use additive manufacturing in high value, small batch production. For example, 3D printing software company Betatype uses the RenAM 500Q to make orthopedic implants. "Additive manufacturing is Domin's key technology," said Martin McMahon, Renishaw's AM chief technology consultant. "It enables companies to manufacture complex parts without tools and with minimal operation and assembly. Attempting to integrate this complex functionality into such a small design is impossible using traditional manufacturing techniques."
Launched in 2017, the RenAM 500Q is Renishaw's four-laser metal additive manufacturing machine that builds complex metal parts directly from digital CAD files. Its high deposition rate of up to 150 cm3 / hour significantly increases productivity and reduces cost per part. The machine also has an automatic powder and waste treatment system to ensure consistent process quality.
The design freedom of 3D printing allows Domin to design a new stable design that directly drives the servo valve. The redesigned drive is 25% stronger than the original drive, but only a quarter of the size. Its production cost is only one-third of the original, and the cycle time has been reduced from 5.5 hours to only one hour. In this sense, metal additive manufacturing has also reshaped the relationship between cost and weight of hydrodynamic machinery. Traditionally, the more material removed from a part, the higher the cost of the part. Metal additive manufacturing is now used, and the lighter the parts, the cheaper the parts are for installation.
Benefiting from additive manufacturing technology, weight reduction of parts in weight-critical markets such as aerospace and defense, and cost-critical markets such as automotive and mobile hydraulics reduce costs.