CONnected Flexible dIGital hybrid additive manufacturing Unit designed for REpair (CONFIGURE)

Today's increasingly complex high value engineering parts are too valuable to discard when
they are damaged. Unfortunately, current repair methods, often based on a series of complex
manual operations, are difficult to control to ensure that high performance, often safety
critical, parts have the required level of integrity. This problem is exacerbated when parts are
repaired in remote, often inhospitable and hazardous locations, where it is difficult to provide
the required level of repair skill.
There is an urgent need for a flexible, efficient and automated method of repairing high value
metallic parts, close to the point of use. Hybrid Additive Manufacturing (AM) processes,
combining Directed Energy Deposition (DED) AM processes, with conventional 5 axes
machining are already in production. Although very effective, this solution is limited to
relatively small parts.
In CONFIGURE a flexible automated repair unit, encompassing every stage of the repair
operation (damage assessment, repair, finishing and final inspection) will be developed and
demonstrated. Using a robotic platform with interchangeable inspection, deposition and
machining heads it will allow parts of almost unlimited size to be repaired in a seamless
operation. The new unit can be provided in portable and even mobile configuration, enabling it
to be positioned wherever required.
Digital manufacturing technology is a key aspect of the project. An array of sensors will be
incorporated into the repair unit to provide both process and part quality data. This
information, used to enable the unit to operate in an autonomous mode, will also be logged to
allow detailed analysis to be performed and provide traceability. The CONFIGURE unit will be
demonstrated in two end-use sectors, repair of damaged rail track and high value mining
equipment but there are a wide range of potential cross-sector applications, including new part
production.