Metal additive manufacturing (AM) technology has created many new opportunities for the design of the fluid power industry, making it possible to redesign these products, thereby creating the latest "most advanced" products. Not only meet the needs of lightweight in the aerospace field, but also meet the needs of higher economics in other industrial fields.
Achieve beyond traditional manufacturing
Traditionally, the application of products in the fluid power industry can be viewed according to different market areas. The rough classification includes aerospace and other industries, and different market applications have different demands for fluid power product functions. In order to achieve light weight, products in the aerospace field must use high-cost raw materials, such as titanium and expensive surface processing such as ball-end milling. The result of this is a more expensive product.
It can be said that aerospace favors lightweight products, while other industries are much less sensitive to lightweight. However, in terms of fluid power products, there are still many common requirements, such as performance, efficiency and reliability.
Many times, we pay attention to 3D printing technology because this technology can provide potential value advantages for important industries, especially the aerospace industry. Therefore, we can easily ignore the potential benefits of those application markets that are sensitive to manufacturing costs (such as automobiles, construction machinery and other industries).
However, sometimes 3D printing can not only meet the needs of the aerospace industry, but also meet the needs of other industrial fields. 3D Science Valley takes the electro-hydraulic servo valve (EHSV) as an example. The electro-hydraulic servo valve is both an electro-hydraulic conversion element and a power amplifying element, which can convert tiny electrical signals into high-power hydraulic energy output. Including Moog and Bosch Rexroth, various methods are used to minimize the weight of the servo valve. However, traditional subtractive manufacturing has a feature that when the design is optimized to the limit, the weight can no longer be reduced.
The British company Domin focuses on the development of fluid power parts through metal 3D printing. Domin designed and tested a lightweight high-power and high-torque quantitative pump. This is a positive displacement pump that requires high efficiency, low speed (4,000 rpm) and high torque. Domin has optimized the design of fixed displacement pumps through metal additive manufacturing (AM) technology.
By combining design software, finite element analysis software and computational fluid dynamics software, Domin is able to design and manufacture pumps with a power density of 23kW / kg, a torque of 40Nm, and a displacement of 14cc / rev.
The plunger pump is an important device in the hydraulic system. It relies on the reciprocating movement of the plunger in the cylinder to change the volume of the sealed working volume cavity to realize oil absorption and pressure. The plunger pump has the advantages of high rated pressure, compact structure, high efficiency and convenient flow adjustment. Radial plunger pumps can be divided into two categories: valve distribution and shaft distribution. The radial structure design overcomes the problems such as the axial plunger pump sliding shoes eccentric wear. The impact resistance is greatly improved.
In the last century, although a lot of work has been done on the development of radial piston pumps, the existing manufacturing technology has failed to achieve very complicated details. Metal 3D printing technology allows Domin to improve the performance of the pump from the original fluid principle, and to make efficient and lightweight commutation components for the pump through innovative applications of 3D printing.
In order to be able to design an efficient pump with a reliable service life, it is necessary to refine a complex set of compromises in the design of the radial piston pump. The most effective method is to use a pump consisting of a pivot that is pressure balanced along the length. However, in order to do this, the pivot requires a very complex hydraulic commutation, and these complex structures can only be achieved by metal 3D printing technology.
The Domin project demonstrated the innovative application of radial piston pump design through metal 3D printing. Taking metal 3D printing as a key manufacturing technology and the principle of design-driven innovation is bringing a whole new look to the hydraulic industry. 
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