Munich Germany, 13. July 2022 – In many industrial sectors, such as in the automotive industry, in aerospace or in the energy sector, the demand for special metal components that are light and have a high-strength is increasing. Modern gas turbines, for example, require extremely stable and at the same time lightweight heat shields. An important manufacturing process for this is the powder-bed fusion process of metals using laser beam (PBF-LB/M). Depending on the application, the process is not yet always competitive compared with conventional production in terms of unit costs. The research and innovation project InShaPe, funded by the EU with EUR 6.8 million, aims to make a decisive contribution to the further development of the technology.
Under the coordination of the Technical University of Munich (TUM), here the Professorship of Laser-based Additive Manufacturing, ten partners from seven countries are working together on the project. In powder-bed fusion of metals, extremely thin layers of metal powder are applied to a building platform. This powder layer is melted by a focused laser beam and binds to the underlying material layer during solidification. This process is repeated layer by layer until a finished component is created. Due to the layered structure, complex and weight-saving geometries can be realised. After removal of excess powder, the finished component is then usually post-processed depending on the application.
InShaPe started on June 1, 2022 and will run until the end of May 2025. The project is being carried out by the Technical University of Munich with nine other partners from France, Germany, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and Spain. The project is managed by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Katrin Wudy, Head of the Professorship of Laser-based Additive Manufacturing at the Technical University of Munich. The EU is supporting the project with EUR 6.8 million under the European Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, “Horizon Europe”.
Project name: InShaPe (Grant Agreement no. 101058523) – Green Additive Manufacturing through innovative beam shaping and process monitoring
Duration: 06/2022 – 05/2025
Coordination: Technical University of Munich, Germany
Project coordinator: Prof. Dr-Ing. Katrin Wudy, Technical University of Munich
Programme: Horizon Europe
Total funding amount: EUR 6