Open Competition 1 - Chemistry and Materials

Laser Forming of Complex Structures

Sponsor: GE Global Research

• Project Performance Period: 11/1/2002 - 5/17/2006
• Total project (est.): $6,999,612.00
• Requested ATP funds: $3,499,804.00

Accurate shaping of metal parts traditionally has relied on skilled craftsmanship and complex tooling, both costly. High-intensity laser beams can be used to heat and bend sheet metal, but the mechanisms of the laser forming process are not well understood or precisely controllable. A joint venture led by General Electric will develop technologies for a controllable, repeatable laser forming process that shapes and re-shapes a wide range of complex sheet-metal and tubular parts meeting specific material and mechanical requirements. In the three-year project, the research team will develop and integrate modeling, metallurgical, and controller technologies into a system that can accommodate variations in work piece geometry, material properties, system control, and component complexity. The researchers will seek to model laser forming processes used with various types of parts, understand how material characteristics affect and are affected by the process, and develop the capability to sense and adaptively control the process. The ATP funding brings together a team with diverse expertise and will enable the development of broader solutions than would be possible through the efforts of individual firms. Other partners in the project include Caterpillar Inc. (Peoria, Ill.), Native American Technologies (Golden, Colo.), A. Zahner Company Inc. (Kansas City, Mo.), and Columbia University (New York, N.Y.) If successful, the project will reduce the need for highly specialized metal-forming tools and provide for increased design flexibility and adaptive low-volume manufacturing of consistently high-quality products with little or no waste. The intelligent platform technology will benefit a broad range of applications, principally in the automotive and aircraft industries. The shipbuilding, heavy equipment, bridge construction, and sculpture/architecture industries also will benefit. With time to market reduced by up to 50 percent and production costs of some parts reduced by up to 80 percent, U.S. manufacturers in the metal-forming industry could save as much as $320 billion by 2010. In addition, new products could be produced that cannot be manufactured economically with existing methods.

For project information:

Jim Healy, (518) 387-6284
healyj@research.ge.com

Active Project Participants

• A. Zahner Company, Inc. (Kansas City, MO)
  [Original, Active Member]
  
• Caterpillar, Inc. (Peoria, IL)
  [Original, Active Member]
  
• Columbia University (New York, NY)
  [Original, Active Member]
  
• Native American Technologies (Golden, CO)
  [Original, Active Member]
  

ATP Project Manager

H. Felix Wu, (301) 975-4685
felix.wu@nist.gov