Emission Analysis of Aircraft Gate Hinge Arm Parts Manufactured by Laser Powder Bed Fusion Based on Innovative Design
摘要
Manufacturing industry involves a huge amount of materials and energy, putting enormous pressure on the global economic environment, which led to an increased interest in developing more sustainable manufacturing technology. Additive manufacturing (AM) technology has great potential in improving material utilization, reducing part weight and production cost, and reducing environmental harm. Its contribution to the promotion of sustainable development has become evident. In this study, the hinge arm parts of aircraft boarding gate were taken as the research object, and the cost and carbon emission of hinge arm parts under three different processes, namely traditional manufacturing (casting + machining), additive manufacturing (AM) and AM based on innovative design, were calculated. The results showed that the weight of the hinge arm parts formed by traditional manufacturing process was 9.2 kg. The weight of the parts fabricated by AM after innovative design was 6.4 kg, which was about 30.4% less than that by traditional manufacturing process. In addition, the cost of the parts fabricated by additive manufacturing was reduced by 24% compared to traditional processes. The carbon emissions involved about 1654.46 kg CO2e, when the hinge arm was manufactured by the traditional manufacturing process (casting + machining). After innovative design, the carbon emission was further reduced to 867.44 kg CO2e by AM, which was only 52% of traditional manufacturing process. Therefore, the use of additive manufacturing technology for small batch parts can significantly reduce the manufacturing cycle and carbon emissions, reducing the harm to the environment.