Projects / Programmes
Tribological surface design with advanced metal additive manufacturing - TriboADAM
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 2.11.03 |
Engineering sciences and technologies |
Mechanical design |
Special development know-how |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 2.03 |
Engineering and Technology |
Mechanical engineering |
Additive manufacturing, metals, metal powder, tribology, friction, wear, lubrication, surface topography, surface integrity, metrology, powder bed technology, selective laser melting
Researchers (16)
| no. |
Code |
Name and surname |
Research area |
Role |
Period |
No. of publicationsNo. of publications |
| 1. |
34424 |
PhD Muhammad Shahid Arshad |
Materials science and technology |
Researcher |
2020 - 2023 |
62 |
| 2. |
34376 |
PhD Lucija Čoga |
Mechanical design |
Researcher |
2020 - 2023 |
63 |
| 3. |
53514 |
Petra Jan |
Mechanical design |
Junior researcher |
2020 - 2023 |
19 |
| 4. |
36571 |
Rok Jelovčan |
|
Technical associate |
2021 - 2023 |
86 |
| 5. |
33243 |
PhD Jure Jerina |
Mechanical design |
Researcher |
2022 - 2023 |
27 |
| 6. |
14556 |
PhD Mitjan Kalin |
Mechanical design |
Head |
2020 - 2023 |
1,110 |
| 7. |
53878 |
Urban Klanjšček |
Mechanical design |
Researcher |
2020 - 2023 |
9 |
| 8. |
32070 |
PhD Janez Kogovšek |
Mechanical design |
Researcher |
2020 - 2023 |
53 |
| 9. |
18005 |
Franci Kopač |
|
Technical associate |
2020 - 2021 |
55 |
| 10. |
53511 |
Sebastjan Matkovič |
Mechanical design |
Junior researcher |
2020 - 2022 |
32 |
| 11. |
52775 |
Mitja Novak |
|
Technical associate |
2020 - 2023 |
0 |
| 12. |
36879 |
Boštjan Podlipec |
Manufacturing technologies and systems |
Researcher |
2020 - 2021 |
11 |
| 13. |
33657 |
PhD Marko Polajnar |
Mechanical design |
Researcher |
2022 - 2023 |
105 |
| 14. |
21632 |
Jožica Sterle |
|
Technical associate |
2020 - 2023 |
0 |
| 15. |
55977 |
Jan Štucin |
Manufacturing technologies and systems |
Researcher |
2021 - 2023 |
0 |
| 16. |
36409 |
PhD Blaž Žugelj |
Mechanical design |
Researcher |
2020 - 2023 |
24 |
Organisations (2)
Abstract
Additive manufacturing (AM) and Industry 4.0 are intimately entwinned. Together they are a key driver for today’s industrialised country’s economic growth. AM, which began as an expensive technology for making prototypes and complex structures, is now attracting the attention of major industry and automotive sectors, where it is set to revolutionise the ways in which products are designed and produced. Making engineering products using AM is a bottom-up process. The metallic powders are fed into the laser-based device, where they are melted in a layer-by-layer process to produce a single component in net-shape form with practically no waste material. This component can be made with practically no restrictions on its internal or external structure, meaning that features like cooling channels can be introduced at ideal locations or ideal shapes can be designed to reduce stresses, leading to a component that is better adapted to its task and one that will require less maintenance and have a longer service life. Important aspects as we pursue manufacturing processes that have less impact on the environment over the full lifecycle. The fact that most prominent world-corporations nowadays have their own “AM campus” reveals two important aspects to the process: firstly, this level of interest and investment from the world’s leading companies means AM is central to the future of manufacturing; and, secondly, that a great deal of research and development is still required to bring the full benefits of AM to fruition. The TriboADAM project considers a critical aspect of AM: how do AM’s processing parameters affect the surface integrity of a component, and, most critically, how can we achieve the surface characteristics that we want in terms of tribological performance so as to maximise the potential of AM for producing engineering components. Since almost every engineering component is in some type of friction-relevant contact during its use phase, achieving the optimum surface is a primary concern. The objectives of this project thus include material and metrology analyses of the effects of AM parameters on the surface integrity, mechanical and physico-chemical surface properties and microstructure of components; a fundamental understanding of the tribological behaviour on the nano-to-micro scale; an industry-relevant surface “standardisation” dataset that relates to AM parameters; and to design predictable tribological contact surfaces that match the required functionality in terms of friction, wear, lubrication and durability. Because only by knowing the limits within which we can control AM will we be able to tailor the surfaces to respond best in terms of tribological function, for example, in the context of the lubrication possibilities that conform to the performance requirements. One very exciting possibility is that AM may be inherently capable of producing more suitable surfaces than conventional top-down processes; surfaces that are textured in such a way that in combination with certain lubricants perform far better than would otherwise be possible. TriboADAM is an industry-backed project. SiEVA, a R&D company formed by several highly-successful internationally known Slovenian companies in 2011, envisages AM impacting on injection-moulding tools, complex gears, customised compressor parts, lightweight hydraulic valves and cylinders. To succeed in the manufacture of tribologically idealised parts, SiEVA has turned to Laboratory for Tribology and Interface Nanotechnology (TINT), one of the world’s leading centres for tribology, with its focus on surface engineering and coatings, green lubrication and surface films, from the nano- to the macro-scale. Together they plan an interdisciplinary research programme that will not only lead to the technical objectives being achieved, but will also impact at the societal level with benefits in terms of reduced levels of pollution and the conserving of energy and resources.
