BUP35 - AniFoam

Development and analysis of an additive manufacturing method to produce anisotropic foam core structures with chemical liquid foams

The mobility sector is faced with ever-increasing demands in terms of weight, emissions and sustainability.  To optimize each part of the vehicle as much as possible, weight savings can be achieved by using sandwich structures in which a lightweight core material is used between two solid cover layers. The use of foam cores in these structures also improves properties such as thermal insulation, impact protection and sound absorption. However, these foam structures are currently still uniformly designed and show further potential for additional weight savings.

 

Aim

The projects goal is to develop a manufacturing method for chemical liquid foams in combination with an additive application process and enable it to be used in mobility applications. This manufacturing method will be analyzed for its limitations in order to develop a structural and density-graded foam core. The influence of the adjustable process and production parameters will be analyzed and these results will be used to produce weight-optimized foam cores by using a resource-saving additive process.

 

Approach

  • Design of an additive manufacturing system for liquid foams with flexible mixing process
  • Process analysis of the manufacturing method and its influencing factors
  • Material characterization of the manufactured foam structures

 

Benefit

The production process developed in the project has the potential to manufacture anisotropic and optimized foam cores for sandwich structures in a flexible additive process. This can also minimize secondary process steps and allow seamless functionalization of the core structure.

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Key data

Research Field

Manufacturing Systems

Period

01.01.2024 until 30.09.2024

Project participants

Contact

Thilo Zimmermann

Head of Research Coordination

Phone
+49 711 685 60960
E-Mail
fk@icm-bw.de