By: Pierre Ross
The additive manufacturing team is now in phase two of a five phase project that began in July 2018. This project is part of a 2-year research program focused on design for additive manufacturing in the aerospace industry funded by the Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE).
Phase one kicked off with the part selection process where the student research team selected which parts would be best suited for the project. During phase two, the additive manufacturing team is responsible for the redesign and model development of the candidate parts selected in phase one. The current additive manufacturing research team will be tasked with: evaluating the design constraints and requirements, designing the parts, designing the subassemblies, topological optimization, updating the design based on optimization results, and providing a technical report.
The work on the project takes place at the Innovation Hub, which opened in November of last year. There are several student research groups currently at the Innovation Hub, most of them working on the landing gear projects. Three groups are working in additive manufacturing with different partners: one on a project with Safran Landing Systems and Burloak Technologies, one with Lynch Dynamics, and one with Bombardier.
Dylan Stuhr is one of the students currently working in additive manufacturing on the project. “This is by far the largest and most labour intensive phase of the project” says Stuhr. “We are continuing the work done by the aerospace team during the first phase. In phase one the research team worked on part selection, now we are focused on part design for phase two.” The additive manufacturing team is working in partnership with Burloak Technologies, and Safran Landing Systems to produce additive metal components to the landing gear design. “The goal is to make a more fuel-efficient landing gear and to uphold the reliability and safety of the landing gear” says Stuhr. “We are using aluminum and titanium alloys in the design of the landing gear and using 3D technology through the design process, with the help of Burloak Technologies”.
Kibriya Ungurlu, also a student researcher in additive manufacturing, works on the topological optimization for the project. “We are using solidThinking Inspire software in our topological optimization for the design of the structural parts” says Ungurlu. “Through the Inspire software we are able to create a lighter structure for the landing gear that will also be able to withstand the rigors of the landing.” The designed parts are based on the Bombardier CRJ 200.
Apart from the strategic goals of completing this part of the project, the students are also benefiting from the great learning experience that comes with being on board a research project of this scale during their studies. “This is a great experience as we are getting great hands-on work experience that we can take with us after we graduate from our program” reflects Ungurlu. Being work ready is significant for the student researchers as they continue to build experience for their careers.
Following the redesign, the parts will be printed at Burloak Technologies facilities and then tested to validate the student researchers’ redesign.