Do Additive Manufacturing Processes Enable More Sustainable Products? Circulation of Metallic Components Through Repair and Refurbishment by the Example of a Deep-Drawing Tool

Resource-efficient circular economy strategies can make a significant contribution to increase the environmental sustainability of products. Repair and refurbishment of damaged or obsolete components can be achieved through the use of additive manufacturing (AM) processes. However, the analysis of existing application examples shows that the application potential of AM processes for the recycling of components is not yet fully exploited. Up to now, almost exclusively wear damage has been repaired. A structural repair as well as a refurbishment, i.e. a functional modernisation of a component, is hardly described in the literature so far. The AM process powder bed fusion by laser beam (PBF-LB) offers great potential for repairing filigree and complicated structures as well as refurbishing parts. However, potential users usually lack the know-how to use the process for repairing or refurbishing existing components. For users without the necessary experience, this article offers assistance through the detailed description of a process chain for the repair and refurbishment of a component. The component under consideration is a prototype of a deep-drawing die. Manufacturing defects occurred on this component, which were repaired using PBF-LB. Compared to manufacturing a new prototype, 83% less material was applied in the repair process and the build job required only about a third of the time. In addition, the prototype, which became obsolete with a new development status of the deep-drawing tool, was adapted to this new development status and thus used again. Since only conventional AM systems were used in the process chains, this article is particularly interesting for practitioners who want to use already existing AM systems for the repair and refurbishment of components. With the presented use case, this paper shows the potential for the broader use of a component repair and refurbishment by means of PBF-LB, especially in the context of product development processes. Finally, the discussion deals with the boundary conditions that have to be taken into account when deciding whether a component is suitable for metal additive repair and refurbishment.