Additive Manufacturing Design for Wärtsilä Wärtsilä was willing to redesign their valve springs press tools by having a lighter structure made by additive manufacturing. The initial “standard design” was machined and welded, but there were fears that it would not withstand the spring forces of over 30 kN generated during use. Wärtsilä involved Etteplan to co-design and rethink the manually operated pressing tool for mounting cylinder head valves. Case Wärtsilä Expertise Engineering Four potential metals were considered for the final additive manufactured component, and design objectives included restrictions on manufacturing cost and material usage. The customer also wanted to understand how quickly this type of engineering and design task could be completed. Image: Original welded pressing tool design Simulation-driven design approach To tackle this project, Etteplan assembled a team that included experts in AM production, AM design, topology optimization and print process simulation. The design workflow started with definition of available design space, boundary conditions and maximum potential loads that the tool would be exposed to during operation. Altair OptiStruct and SolidThinking Inspire software were used to run topology optimization and FEM analyses for design concept generation. Inspire PolyNURBS were used to generate smooth CAD surfaces over the topology optimized results while allowing the organic features of the design to be maintained. OptiStruct was then used for performance evaluation of the final component design, and Additive Works Amphyon software, part of the Altair Partner Alliance (APA), was utilized to simulate the print process to ensure that the component was printable and that maximum distortion levels were within reason. Image: Etteplan’s simulation driven AM design workflow for the Wärtsilä tooling case Benefits Etteplan was able to create a pressing tool design that was ready to be printed within one week from when the project starting data was frozen. The topology optimized design met both the cost and material usage targets. Additionally, care was taken so that the design was self-supporting, which further reduces manufacturing costs by eliminating material waste and minimizing post-processing costs. Keys to success Etteplan’s final design of the pressing tool for mounting cylinder head valves met and exceeded all of Wärtsilä’s initial AM design objectives. The fast turnaround in this project was made possible by assembling a team of experts who used topology optimization to eliminate excess material usage in a self-supporting design and print process simulation to guarantee that it could be successfully manufactured. Image: Additive manufactured pressing tool designed by Etteplan’s AMO team for Wärtsilä
VTT and Etteplan Partnership Paves the Way for Finnish MedTech Innovation VTT is one of Europe’s leading science and technology organization. We are owned by the Finnish state. We advance the utilisation and commercialisation of research and technology in commerce and society. Through scientific and technological means, we turn large global challenges into sustainable growth for businesses and society. We bring together people, business, science and technology to solve the biggest challenges of our time.
Developing Autonomous Smart Wood Processing Solutions with ANDRITZ ANDRITZ is a globally leading supplier of plants, equipment, and services for hydropower stations, the pulp and paper industry, the metalworking and steel industries, and for solid/liquid separation in the municipal and industrial sectors as well as for animal feed and biomass pelleting. Other important business segments include automation and service business. The publicly listed technology Group is headquartered in Graz, Austria, and has a staff of approximately 29,100 employees. ANDRITZ operates more than 280 sites in over 40 countries.
Valmet develops green-transition technology that replaces plastic with new fiber products - Etteplan part of the project team Valmet is a leading global developer and supplier of process technologies, automation and services for the pulp, paper and energy industries. With Valmet’s automation systems and flow control solutions the company serves an even wider base of process industries. Valmet has over 220 years of industrial history and a strong track record in continuous improvement and renewal.
Etteplan provides CFD for Normet as a part of continuous service in engineering and development Normet is a fast growing and innovative company with a mission to lead the transformation into a more digital and sustainable tomorrow. Within underground mining and tunnelling, they have amassed process expertise in over thousands of projects all over the world. Normet has over 50 years of experience in the industry, over 13000 delivered machines and over 1400 professionals working for the company. Normet’s mission is to lead transformation into digitalized and sustainable underground mining and tunnelling.
