3D printing for 3D printer

This 3D printer can print its own parts – and improve its performance in the process. The new HP Multi Jet Fusion 5200 is evidence of how industry can benefit from 3D printing – if it’s seamlessly integrated into the Digital Enterprise.

This flexibility is especially beneficial in the automotive industry. Larger unit quantities can be manufactured just as easily as one-off products like individual wheel trims. The result: a happy customer!

The solution from Siemens and HP integrates hardware, software, data intelligence, and services, making the entire manufacturing process more efficient. The combination of digital twins for product, production, and performance with the MindSphere cloud solution enables automotive and industrial customers to create high-quality, mid-volume, 3D-printed parts faster, with unique product designs, for new applications, and in digital factories.

Speed is also a key attribute of the HP Multi Jet Fusion 5200. It’s therefore vital to keep the print head at the right temperature. A cooling duct directs air to the print head, but there’s only limited space in the printer for the duct. So how can the mass flow be improved without making the cooling duct any larger?

Using the Simcenter Star-CCM+ simulation tool, the developers first analyzed how air flows through the cooling duct. Undesired eddies shown in red were almost entirely eradicated as a result. Changing the interior of the cooling duct by optimizing its geometry step by step improved the mass flow by 22 percent. Any remaining edges were smoothed in an additional stage of shape optimization.

That’s where the NX software comes into play: Convergent Modeling and the Design Checker were used to ensure that the cooling duct could actually be manufactured and installed. This step included adding a mounting flange and checking to determine whether the predefined wall strength of the entire component had been maintained.

The associative, end-to-end nature of the Siemens solution represents two benefits that show their colors whenever more improvements are needed. They allow design changes to be automatically incorporated during upstream or downstream process stages. And until the component is printed, the user stays in an end-to-end software environment. 

NX then optimized the print space inside the machine. The question was how to fit the maximum number of 3D printed parts into the machine, and how to shorten the printing time for a set order volume. This is where the software can relieve operators of the time-consuming task of filling the print space. Getting the most from print space can significantly reduce unit costs. And lastly, it makes production more sustainable, because there’s less waste per component.

Tecnomatix Plant Simulation can be used to run through manufacturing scenarios for entire plants or manufacturing lines at a virtual level. The number of parts to be printed, say 300,000, is specified, and the simulation software then determines the ideal parameters: for example, the number and positioning of additive manufacturing machines and automated guided vehicles (AGVs), or the number of machine operators required. 

“We’re proud to partner with Siemens to make high-performance parts, personalized products, and serialized 3D production a reality for our customers,” says Christoph Schell, President of 3D Printing and Digital Manufacturing and Member of the Executive Leadership Team at HP Inc. Schell believes that the collaboration between HP and Siemens will lead to new manufacturing capabilities, innovative applications, and breakthrough business results for customers.

Volkswagen, one of these customers, had a positive take on this partnership: “As one of the world’s largest auto groups, we see enormous opportunities for digital manufacturing technologies to speed our innovation cycle, bring new products to market faster, and improve our manufacturing efficiency and sustainability,” observed Martin Goede, Head of Technology Planning and Development at Volkswagen. “We look forward to this collaboration and hope it will lead to more 3D printed applications that will help us deliver even greater experiences for our customers.”

September 2019