Honda Is Leveraging (and Improving!) Laser Powder Bed Fusion for Transportation

Japanese car manufacturer Honda recently revealed how it uses 3D printing to increase efficiency. The company’s technology of choice? Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF). This metal additive manufacturing technology can create complex geometries that are impossible to achieve through casting and forging, suitable for quickly producing one-off items or small quantities of diverse products. However, the process is not without challenges. So, Honda’s research and development facilities have adopted a deformation prediction simulation technology to address the inefficiencies they faced with the technology.

One of the major ways Honda’s facilities optimized its LPBF practice is related to gas circulation. While LPBF is taking place, an inert gas is circulated in the chamber to create an oxygen-free environment. The purpose of this gas is to remove fumes and spatters that are generated by the melting metal and to prevent oxygen from getting into the part. Otherwise, oxygen can create voids and defects in the product.

A part from Honda made with LPBF

The company explained that the larger the build area, the more susceptible it is to external disturbances. This is because in areas on the downwind side, where the inert gas flow speed is slow, they cannot remove fumes and metal spatters, resulting in modeling problems on this downwind side. The team’s solution is to use a high-speed camera to check the spatter removal status for each layer. That way, they identify the root of the problem, comparing spatter removal with the wind speed distribution that they measure with a wind speed sensor. Having this data allows them to optimize the wind speed and determine precise conditions for the entire modeling area.