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Challenges of the transition from prototype systems to mass production processes of Shape Memory Alloy actuator systems
Challenges of the transition from prototype systems to mass production processes of Shape Memory Alloy actuator systems
Friday, May 10, 2024: 3:00 PM
Meeting Room II (Hotel Cascais Miragem)
The process of product development from the first idea to a production launch, from TRL 1 to TRL 9, is a complex journey even for products without Smart Materials. If you consider a material such
as Nitinol, with non-linear properties and phase, “complex” does not even begin to describe it. The patent landscape provides a seemingly endless source of concepts that did not reach the market. We are convinced that many of these systems did not overcome the prototype state because of a lack of education at the interface between R&D and production. While it is possible to thoroughly characterize components in the lab, methods for a fast and reliable inlinecharacterization have to be established in a production line. The assembly of the prototype, where every part is machined properly to provide a functionality with the SMA component, is easy,
because it can be changed until it works. In production, all tolerances of all components that must be assembled need to be taken into account – which when working for example with a martensitic SMA, is a challenge. Logistics, i.e. transport or even storage of semi-finished products are important, too, to avoid unwanted deformation or activation. These are just some aspects where the effort, today, is still higher for SMA parts than for conventional materials. In this presentation, we want to highlight some of the aspects for the transition from Lab to Production that are more than “just” a SMA component that fulfills its function after assembly.
as Nitinol, with non-linear properties and phase, “complex” does not even begin to describe it. The patent landscape provides a seemingly endless source of concepts that did not reach the market. We are convinced that many of these systems did not overcome the prototype state because of a lack of education at the interface between R&D and production. While it is possible to thoroughly characterize components in the lab, methods for a fast and reliable inlinecharacterization have to be established in a production line. The assembly of the prototype, where every part is machined properly to provide a functionality with the SMA component, is easy,
because it can be changed until it works. In production, all tolerances of all components that must be assembled need to be taken into account – which when working for example with a martensitic SMA, is a challenge. Logistics, i.e. transport or even storage of semi-finished products are important, too, to avoid unwanted deformation or activation. These are just some aspects where the effort, today, is still higher for SMA parts than for conventional materials. In this presentation, we want to highlight some of the aspects for the transition from Lab to Production that are more than “just” a SMA component that fulfills its function after assembly.