Etteplan supports research towards an additive manufacturing breakthrough in the Swedish ProThin project

Etteplan Oyj, press release, 10 May 2022 9 am EEST

Etteplan’s additive manufacturing expertise is playing a crucial role in an ongoing additive manufacturing (AM) project of the Swedish strategic innovation program Produktion2030. The ProThin project aims at discovering how to produce components with thin walls and narrow channels with the AM technology Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF).

Etteplan is in the forefront of the ProThin project, part of the Swedish strategic innovation program Produktion2030. The goal is to enable production of thin walls and narrow channels with Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) process used in additive manufacturing. LPBF is a 3D printing technique that enables the manufacturing of a vast array of geometrically complex products using a heat source, mainly laser or electron beams, to fuse powder particles layer-by-layer, therefore forming a solid part. Etteplan’s role is to provide expertise in process simulation and product design.

The ProThin project is led by RISE Research Institutes of Sweden AB and it is executed within Swedish strategic innovation program Produktion2030, a common investment between Sweden´s Innovation Agency, Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development and Swedish Energy Agency. The project started in 2021 and it will continue until 2024

The key target is to investigate the robustness of the Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) process used in additive manufacturing. Eventually, the project aims at developing a new methodology that will enable serial production of components with thin walls and narrow channels.

“Currently, it is possible to design complex components with such geometry, but reality and simulation are different. If you can’t do simulations correctly linked to the LPBF behavior with the material properties, you can´t predict the reliability of manufacturing the components. This will save time, money, and material, ” says Niklas Eriksson, Additive Manufacturing expert from Etteplan’s Engineering Solutions Service area.

“If you can produce the desired structures, manufacturers can build products with higher functionality. The parts can be lighter and require less material. That would also result in parts that are more sustainable and environmentally friendly, ” Eriksson explains.

In total, the ProThin project consortium has ten partners that represent the complete value chain: leading academia, engineering companies, and component manufacturers. Each has a different task to solve.

“Our focus will be on simulation and design optimization for LPBF technology. Developing simulation workflows is very important and of great value regarding predictability and accuracy. We want to get more knowledge on the technical limitations to ensure that even complex parts fulfill the requirements, ” Eriksson tells.

For more information, please contact:
Tero Hämeenaho, Department Manager, Additive Manufacturing and Optimization, Etteplan, +358 103 072 757
Outi Torniainen, SVP, Marketing and Communications, Etteplan, tel. +358 10 307 3302