Diesel engines have been widely used in industries like transportation, mining, and power generation around the globe for more than 100 years by providing excellent and reliable power output at a reasonable cost. With the need for environmental sustainability and creating a cleaner world, engines with alternative fuel options (hydrogen, methanol, HVO, etc.) provide a promising path to these vital industries’ aspirations for zero emissions, putting technology development and production on the fast track.
The metals mined from the ground using diesel engines have always been the backbone of the engines themselves, from mature design to innovations. Metal types include conventional materials like aluminum alloy, cast iron, steel/stainless steel nickel alloy and titanium alloys. The metals are present in a variety of ways: casting, forging, wrought, powdered metal, additive manufacturing, layered structure, or metal composite.
With over 90 parts reviewed for binder jetting manufacturing and about 30 parts close to being production-ready, Cummins is spearheading the application of additive manufacturing on engines
As Cummins engines have been running for more than a century, innovation to achieve higher performance and cleaner power never stops. In order to deliver on customer cost of production targets, engine materials are expected to be stronger with a capability to withstand hotter environments at an affordable cost. There are still tremendous efforts to push the material performance envelope in these conventional material areas.
A recent example is the announcement of a new patented alloy that Cummins and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) collaboratively invented together after five years of research and development. While remaining in the alloy steel range and sustaining alloy steel affordability, this new patented alloy demonstrates superior strength at high temperatures compared to the most widely used commercial steel 4140, with 185% higher Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS) and 143% higher fatigue strength at 600 °C. This performance at higher temperatures leads to reduced emissions and further improvement of engine efficiency and fuel economy – making this alloy a remarkable achievement. It is amazing how steel material properties can still be improved even 150 years after the introduction of modern steel manufacturing.
While continually pushing the boundaries of these traditional materials, it is also crucial to innovate new technologies rather than just adapting them. Additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, is one of these novel technologies, revolutionizing manufacturing by combining part shaping and material formation simultaneously. Additive manufacturing’s materials-forming process is different than traditional material manufacturing as it introduces a shorter lead time and potential cost-saving benefits. Moreover, it will also help environmental sustainability by decreasing water and energy consumption as well as significantly reducing metal weight through its design flexibility. This reduction in metal weight means it not only requires less metal but also improves engine performance. Aiming to develop the capability for mass production, Cummins has invested in binder jetting, one type of additive manufacturing. While 304L stainless steel, 17-4 PH stainless steel and Copper Nickel alloy 18000 printing are still in development, binder jetted stainless steel 316L is already entering a mature level. For any additive manufacturing technology, it is critical to stabilize the process and produce consistent material properties for part printing. With over 90 parts reviewed for binder jetting manufacturing and about 30 parts close to being production-ready, Cummins is spearheading the application of additive manufacturing on engines.
Above are just two exciting achievements in the development of metal materials — it will be exciting to see continued innovation for the benefit of the mining industry and beyond.
