Redesign and additive manufacturing of a TGV bogie side frame demonstrator
As part of the Additive4Rail project, funded under Bpifrance’s CORIFER call for expressions of interest (AMI) and bringing together SNCF, Centrale Nantes, VLM Robotics and 4Dpioneers, the team from the RAPMAN platform at the GeM laboratory (Centrale Nantes) has developed a new concept for a train bogie side frame.
Starting from the initial digital model of the welded structure and the mechanical specifications, the following key steps were carried out:
- Complete redesign: development by the GeM/ECN RAPMAN team of a new model using topology optimisation and Design for Additive Manufacturing.
- Numerical validation: structural validation of the model through numerical simulation, carried out by SNCF’s computational experts.
- Demonstrator manufacturing: production at the Rapid Manufacturing platform (Centrale Nantes) of a large-scale side frame demonstrator (length: 3.2 m; deposited mass: approx. 400 kg) using the Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) process.
