PSI - Issue 53

Vítor M.G. Gomes et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 53 (2024) 285–290 Author name / Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2023) 000–000

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(2023)), AM technology may be introduced gradually over time, as the knowledge of AM in the railway rolling stock area also increases. For example, in the near-term, maintenance practices supported with AM for reparation and re placement of spare parts can be an option. In a medium-term, AM can be applied for the redesign of conventional parts supported with techniques of topological optimization and lattice structures. In longer-term, AM could be per fectly introduced in the new design of parts, and vehicles, and also renew the railway industry for example with the implementation of decentralization manufacturing.

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Fig. 5. A - Suspension bracket of a dt4 brake calliper unit (TCTMagazine (2020)), B - Brake suspension link (Boissonneault (2019)).

https://www.tctmagazine.com/additive-manufacturing-3d-

https://www.voxelmatters.com/first-3d-printed-safety

3. Concluding Remarks

In this paper, some applications and ongoing practices of AM technology for the railway rolling stock sector were presented. Additionally, it was seen that AM can be gradually implemented as the evolution of knowledge of AM in the railway industry rises, since currently, there is not enough knowledge of AM in the railway rolling stock area. However, the implementation can be summarized in the three phases. In the first phase, AM can be introduced for the reparation of damaged components and replacement of obsolete spare parts. Then, for the redesign of lightweight parts and lastly, the design of lightweight trains with strong shifts in the manufacturing methods. In spite of this paper showing a promising future for AM in the railway industry, there is a notable lack of knowledge of the applicability of AM in rolling stock components. Nevertheless, this indicates that there is a wide range of possibilities to explore.

Acknowledgements

The authors thank to Research Projects:

• FERROVIA 4.0, with reference POCI-01-0247-FEDER-046111, co-financed by the European Regional Develop ment Fund (ERDF), through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalization (COMPETE 2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement; • SMART WAGONS - DEVELOPMENT OF PRODUCTION CAPACITY IN PORTUGAL OF SMART WAGONS FOR FREIGHT with reference nr. C644940527-00000048, investment project nr. 27 rom the Incentive System to Mobilising Agendas for Business Innovation, funded by the Recovery and Resilience Plan and by European Funds NextGeneration EU;