Comparative study and analysis of 3D printed wheel hub

Abstract

Purpose Additive manufacturing (AM) promises to reduce the weight of the component, it is required to be shown that the mechanical performance of AM parts meets stringent industrial design criteria. Very few studies are made on finite element analysis (FEA) of the component produced by AM for real-life workload conditions. This study is supposed to do FEA of the wheel hub, manufactured using metal three-dimensional (3D) printing, under static multi-load conditions and effect of infill pattern on maximum stress, deformation and factor of safety. Design/methodology/approach This study conducted FEA on wheel-hub using Ansys. The approach of Orthotropic properties is used to do static analysis of wheel-hub and compared results of different metal 3D printing material (Ti-6Al-4V and Al-Si10-Mg) with hexagonal and triangular infill patterns. Findings Ti-6Al-4V with Honeycomb patterns shows better results in all cases and can be replaced with standard conventional material. Research limitations/implications Because of the chosen research approach, the research results may lack generalisability. Therefore, it is required to do an experimental study. Practical implications Metal components with applications across the automobile industry can be manufactured using AM technology. With the help of AM, components with high strength to weight ratio can be manufactured. Originality/value This paper fulfils the identified need of FEA of the component produced by AM for real-life workload conditions. This study is supposed to do FEA of the wheel hub, manufactured using metal 3D printing, under static multi-load conditions and Effect of infill pattern on maximum stress, deformation and factor of safety.