Project Description
Key information
EU funding: € 7,91 Million
Total budget: € 9,75 Million
Duration: 48 months [March 2020 – Feb 2024]
Background: Grade2XL is a joint development programme aligning partners along the value chain to foster the rapid development of WAAM materials and process. Grade2XL will deliver multi-material products of superior quality and performance. The high printing rate of WAAM, combined with the ability to control material properties down to the nanoscale, will enable building strong and durable engineering structures.
The Grade2XL project, funded by the programme Horizon 2020, will demonstrate the potential of multi-material wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) for large structures ~1 to >10 m length. Grade2XL will strengthen Europe’s capacity to drive manufacturing innovation globally and withstand growing competition from Asia.
M2i is leading the Grade2XL consortium and has been carrying out the following tasks:
- Project initiation: proposal coordination and writing, consortium building
- (WP 1 Functional grading) Topology optimisation: Design tool for graded structures with minimum distortions
- (WP 7 Dissemination and exploitation): Generic communication and support in organising a WAAM Roadshow
- (WP 8 Project management): Main contact point with the European Commission, day-to-day management
Project Partners:
- Stichting Materials Innovation Institute (M2i), The Netherlands – Lead Partner
- Rotterdam Additive Manufacturing Fieldlab (RAMLAB), The Netherlands
- Gent University, Belgium
- Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands
- Commissariat à l’énergie atomique et aux (CEA), France
- Technical Univerrsity of Denmark, Denmark
- voestalpine Böhler Welding, Germany
- Valk Welding, The Netherlands
- Air Products, Belgium
- Lincoln Electric Europe, The Netherlands
- Politechnika Wrocławska, Poland
- Naval Group, France
- Gorenje Orodjarna, Slovenia
- Energie de France, France
- Arrk Shapers, France
- MAN Energy Solutions, Denmark
- Ucosan (Villeroy&Boch), The Netherlands
- GKN Aerospace Services Ltd, United Kingdom
- Kuźnia Jawor S.A., Poland
- Bureau Veritas, France
- Pôle EMC2, France
Ambition:
Grade2XL will deliver a multi-material, high throughput WAAM system, removing the technological barriers that hinder the application of WAAM, on three levels:
- Material level: functionally graded (multi)materials will be achieved by controlling the two main factors governing the material properties: the chemical composition and the thermal.
- Process level: high WAAM productivity will be achieved using multiple wire deposition systems. The productivity will increase from typically 2 kg/h to 5 kg/h, which can double when a dual robot configuration is used. In-line contactless inspection will ensure first time right quality and facilitate qualification.
- Life cycle or system level: challenging applications will demonstrate the lifecycle benefits of WAAM multi-material devices and in-line process control.
Contact persons M2i
For more information please visit Grade2XL webpage at: www.grade2xl.eu
News
Grade2XL webinar: “Applicability of cryogenic cooling to WAAM”
The next Grade2XL webinar will be on 24 February fromt 13:00 to 14:00 CET. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to make your technological watch! Registration is free but mandatory.
Grade2XL AM Challenge – December 2022
During the annual Meeting Materials conference of 13 December 2022, organized by M2i, Grade2XL held its third open Additive Manufacturing Challenge. For the Grade2XL contest we challenged engineers and
Third Grade2XL webinar: “Manufacturing for sustainability”
The third Grade2XL webinar will be on 7th of October at 13:00, this time the topic is “Manufacturing for sustainability”. During the 3rd Grade2XL webinar the two speakers, Prof. Ciprian
Additive Manufacturing Challenge: Application opens 1st of September
During the annual conference Meeting Materials, taking place on 13 December 2022, the Grade2XL project will organize an Additive Manufacturing Challenge for students, researchers and engineers in the field of
Second Grade2XL webinar: “Code Case 3020 for additive manufacturing”
The second Grade2XL webinar will be on 24th of June at 14:00, this time the topic is “Code Case 3020 for additive manufacturing”. During the 2nd Grade2XL webinar the two
The Grade2XL project partners meet in Nantes
On 18-19 May 2022, Naval Group hosted the Grade2XL partners in Nantes for a 2-day meeting mixing project review sessions and industrial visits. The event gathered 30 onsite participants and
