- Duration: 20 hours
- Year: 2023
- Participants: Central Auto SL + Zulaibar Ikastetxea
- Industry 4.0 and advanced manufacturing
Project description
Centralauto S.L. has redesigned one of its products: the engine exhaust gas measurement machine. In this regard, the company wishes to analyze the various manufacturing processes involved in this design. To this end, they intend to manufacture a part with complex geometry. The first prototype of this part was developed using a welding process.
Due to the complexity of this welding process, the feasibility of manufacturing the part using additive manufacturing will be studied. To this end, the Zulaibar Vocational Training School and Samylabs have manufactured a model of the part using SLM technology.
Selective laser melting (SLM) is a powder-bed fusion additive manufacturing technique that uses a high-power laser to selectively melt and fuse metal powder particles layer by layer to build fully dense 3D parts directly from CAD data.
If the costs of the part and the process are viable, the main objective would be to integrate them into the emissions testing equipment used at national vehicle inspection stations (ITV).
Information regarding the part’s manufacturing and costs has been provided to the company to allow for a comparison with the parts it currently produces using the welding process.
Centralauto’s technicians estimate that the price of the part is €60.62 per unit, which is higher than the cost of the current welding process. Although manufacturing it is technically possible and, in Zulaibar’s opinion, taking into account worker wages, the tools to be used, etc., the SLM process seems viable, the company has decided not to manufacture the first batch of 100 units using this technology.
Tasks Performed
- Design analysis
- Definition of the SLM manufacturing process
- Manufacture of the part
- Cost analysis report











