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Processability investigatation of non-assembly mechanisms for powder bed fusion process

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Abstract

When directly fabricating mechanisms by powder bed fusion (PBF) process, the processability of mechanism is an important factor in a successful fabrication and is studied in this paper. The reference structures due to PBF process are presented; design guidelines of non-assembly mechanisms for PBF process are then suggested to improve the processability. Apart from the design guidelines, the relationship between processability and process strategy is investigated. Lastly, two cases are presented, a universal joint and a rocker–slider mechanism, which are directly fabricated by selective laser melting. Results show that they can be successfully fabricated. The PBF process provides a new methodology that allows more design freedom and faster fabrication of mechanisms. The directly fabricated mechanisms would have better quality and better performance when reasonably designed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China, 510640

    Xubin Su

  2. School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China, 510640

    Yongqiang Yang & Dongming Xiao

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong

    Yonghua Chen

Authors
  1. Xubin Su
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  2. Yongqiang Yang
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  3. Dongming Xiao
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  4. Yonghua Chen
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Correspondence to Xubin Su.

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Su, X., Yang, Y., Xiao, D. et al. Processability investigatation of non-assembly mechanisms for powder bed fusion process. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 64, 1193–1200 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-012-4079-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-012-4079-2

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