Description Additive Manufacturing (AM / 3D printing) is a technology that produces 3D parts layer by layer from a variety of materials. It has been rapidly gaining popularity as a true manufacturing process in recent years. In the AM process, a digital data file is transmitted to a production machine, which ultimately translates an engineering design into a 3D-printed part. Metal AM offers a number of benefits over traditional manufacturing, including:

Creating geometries that are impossible to manufacture with traditional methods; Manufacturing replacement metal parts on-demand; Producing of novel materials with unique properties.

FE-simulation of AM process (using software available from ABAQUS, ANSYS and MSC) helps to optimize material configurations and machine and parts setup before printing. The purpose is to greatly reduce – and potentially eliminate – the physical process of trial-and- error testing. Key Objectives The aim of this project will be to optimize the AM process: Unwanted residual stresses and distortions can develop in the AM process. It is necessary to accurately capture these physical changes to minimize the gap between the as-designed and as-manufactured part specs. It would be useful to compare the convenience and accuracy of simulation tools from ABAQUS, ANSYS and MSC.