Supporting the Additive Manufacturing Simulation Community through Benchmark Measurements

Am-Bench - The Benefits

Additive manufacturing produces the material at the same time it builds a component, and because local build conditions vary widely throughout the build we are left with parts that have different material properties in different places. This greatly complicates qualification and certification. Computer simulation plays a critical role in bringing AM parts to service, but such simulations require rigorous verification and validation. That is where AM-Bench fits in. Am-Bench allows simulation tools to be tested against rigorous data that are publicly available, benefiting everyone. The software companies benefit through the ability to improve their codes and to demonstrate publicly that their simulations match accepted metrics. People who buy simulation codes benefit because they have more confidence that the codes will perform as needed. In my webinar, I will describe AM-Bench and give numerous comparisons between published simulations and the corresponding AM-Bench measurements. I’ll also talk about our next steps in providing rigorous benchmark data to the modeling community.

Overview

Additive manufacturing (AM) is a transformative technology that provides game-changing new capabilities across a wide range of material systems and applications. Polymer AM enables “mass-customization” by producing components or parts directly from 3D files. Metal AM enables production of three-dimensional parts with geometries that can be too costly, difficult, or in some cases, impossible to produce using traditional manufacturing processes. In many cases, however, difficulties persist regarding throughput, reliability, and the properties of the printed parts. Quantitative modeling is critical for predicting and understanding these issues, but model validation and verification requires community access to extensive benchmark test data. I described our establishment of the Additive Manufacturing Benchmark Test Series (AM-Bench) which provides rigorous measurement test data for validating Additive manufacturing simulations for a broad range of AM technologies and material systems. AM-Bench includes extensive in situ and ex situ measurements, simulation challenges for the AM modeling community, and a corresponding conference series. In 2018, the first round of AM-Bench measurements and the first AM-Bench conference were completed, focusing primarily upon laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) processing of metals, and both LPBF and material extrusion processing of polymers. In all, 46 blind modeling simulations were submitted by the international Additive manufacturing community for comparison with the in situ and ex situ measurements. Analysis of these submissions provides valuable insight into existing AM modeling capabilities. AM-Bench operates on a three-year cycle and all benchmark data are permanently archived and freely accessible online.

Webinar Presentation (PDF)

Webinar Recording (WebEx)

Note: The presentation and recording are only available to NAFEMS members.

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