Factory Optimization How a Simulation App Improves the Additive Manufacturing System

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Additive manufacturing processes such as metal powder bed fusion enable flexible and fast production. For the safe handling of metal powder, precise regulation of temperature and humidity in the manufacturing system is crucial. The UK's Manufacturing Technology Centre, together with partners from the aerospace industry, relies on simulation to achieve this.

Additive manufacturing (AM) is one of the fastest-growing areas of industrial production and opens up new possibilities in development and research. However, great opportunities come with great responsibility: especially when handling metal powders in powder bed fusion, industrial companies face complex safety and quality challenges. To enable factory workers to make informed decisions regarding these risks, the British Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), together with partners from the National Centre for Additive Manufacturing (NCAM), built an in-house additive manufacturing facility and enhanced it with a simulation model and an app. For this, the research institute used Comsol's multiphysics simulation software.

Challenges of the Metal Powder Bed Fusion Process

In additive manufacturing, components are created by layering material—unlike subtractive methods, where material is removed. The metal powder bed fusion process uses metal powder that is locally melted and resolidified—a process with high demands on environmental conditions.

If metal powder is handled carelessly in the metal powder bed fusion process, it not only jeopardizes product quality but also the health and safety of employees. Metal powder is toxic and highly flammable. Therefore, ambient humidity should be continuously measured in its usage environment. At the same time, a precise assessment of the powder's dispersion within the facility is essential.

To ensure optimal atmospheric conditions, a manufacturer could expand factory ventilation with a comprehensive climate control system. However, this comes with high costs for the company. But what if it were possible to effectively regulate heat and humidity without such a complex system?

Simulation Software Enables Modeling of A Manufacturing System

The MTC, together with partners from the National Centre for Additive Manufacturing (NCAM), built a powder bed fusion facility as part of the DRAMA project (Digital Reconfigurable Additive Manufacturing for Aerospace). To precisely determine the conditions inside and outside the facility, a model of the facility was created using Comsol Multiphysics simulation software. This allows for the analysis of heat transport and air flow within the facility. The provider of simulation software for product design and research, Comsol, also enables the investigation of the influence of various variables on environmental conditions. These include factors such as weather, the number of operating machines, and the positioning of the machines within the factory hall. By integrating multiple variables into the simulation model, factory personnel can optimize ventilation and production schedules to create ideal conditions.

Simulation App And Digital Twin: Practical Support for Employees

Using the Application Builder in Comsol Multiphysics, the DRAMA team created a simulation app based on the simulation model. This made the model accessible to factory employees—completely without requiring specialized simulation knowledge. They can now use the app to perform predictive simulations on their laptops during daily operations. In practice, app users define relevant boundary conditions at the beginning of a factory shift and can then make ongoing adjustments. Since temperature and humidity levels inevitably fluctuate during a shift, factory staff can adjust the production schedule to maintain the quality of the components. The app can indicate whether, for example, simply improving ventilation by opening windows and doors is sufficient. Users can modify the settings within the app to test the effects of such measures.

The current app still requires manual data entry. Therefore, the DRAMA team aims to develop a digital twin of the facility—a virtual model that is continuously updated using live data from the real factory. This model can automatically adjust its predictions and suggest actions. The app thus already represents an important intermediate step toward the complete digital representation of the facility.

Simulation in Additive Manufacturing: A Promising Solution for the Future

The DRAMA project impressively demonstrates how additive manufacturing is evolving from a promising production method into an industrially mature solution through intelligent simulation technologies and digital twins. The combination of simulation models and simulation apps simplifies the practical handling of the multidimensional challenges of complex manufacturing processes and makes insights accessible to the entire factory staff. With the development of complete digital twins, additive manufacturing stands on the brink of fully automated, data-driven production. This innovation paves the way for a new era of manufacturing, where safety and efficiency merge seamlessly, driving the ultimate breakthrough of Industry 4.0.

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