Robotic Ultrasonic Forging Technology Applied to Additive Manufacturing

The global aerospace industry MRO (maintenance repair overhaul) market size is expected to reach more than 130 billion US dollars in 2032, and robots will play a very important role. Combining robots with additive manufacturing technology to produce large aerospace workpieces can reduce costs. There are already many related research and production examples, such as the manufacturing of rocket barrels. The existing technology cannot avoid the subsequent processing process (grinding), resulting in the manufacturing cost and manufacturing time being unable to be further reduced and shortened. This study introduces a novel method in which robots combine ultrasonic forging and additive manufacturing technology to achieve simultaneous additive manufacturing and shaping of the workpiece appearance. The goal is to meet the required surface roughness specifications of the workpiece and even improve the mechanical properties.