Application Definition
Optimization & Manufacturing Challenges
Velo3D Enablement
A turbine generates power by converting fluid flow into mechanical energy. Many of these applications can range in temperature from cryogenic up to hundreds of degrees Celsius with pressures up to thousands of PSI. In addition, rotational components in advanced turbomachinery experience high RPMs in the tens of thousands. These conditions combined with the goal to constantly increase the efficiency of turbines and pumps makes design and manufacturing of mission critical turbomachinery challenging.
To achieve higher gas turbine performance, designers look to optimize many variables that often impact the complexity of the part and add difficulty in manufacturing. For example, with higher temperatures comes improved efficiency but also the need for new alloys and advanced cooling techniques. This often leads to an optimal design that contains complex internal channels, thin walls, and complex lattice structures.
To manufacture these devices traditionally, engineers utilize a multi-step manufacturing process that compromises many of these optimal geometries and features, is manually intensive, and takes a long time.
Velo3D’s fully integrated solution provides the ability to print the most advanced geometries at production quality. Complex internal channels and thin walls can be manufactured with benefits like reduced back pressure and increased heat transfer. Furthermore, this expands the design window for engineers to fully optimize their parts utilizing advanced, space-age alloys for maximum performance.
The Velo3D solution also features ~1,000 sensors that continually monitor the print in real time compiling over a terabyte of data for larger builds. Assure simplifies this data presenting engineers with the most relevant information about part quality to give you confidence throughout the entire manufacturing process.
