Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghany

Head of Rapid Prototyping Division 

Activities:

• Upgrading the technical capabilities for the design and manufacturing and innovation of new value-added products – that can access and compete in the global markets in different countries in Egypt, Africa and Arab Countries.
• Electronic Drafting and 3D Modeling
• CAE, Stress Analysis and Simulation
• Rapid Prototyping and Manufacturing using REAL METALS
• 3D Printing and Rapid Manufacturing using Plastic Materials
• Design and Manufacturing of Plastic Molds

• Electronic Drafting and 3D Modeling :

Using the state of the art of CAD software, every product can be 2D drafted and 3D modeled electronically on the computer screen including complicated surfaces and details that can be captured using 3D Scanner. The electronic 3D Models can be sent to CAE software for stress analysis, simulation and design approval, CAM for traditional machining and 3D printing for the rapid manufacturing.
Software Tools:

• EDS Unigraphics NX4,
• AutoDesk AutoCAD
• AutoDesk Inventor
• DelCAM Power Shape
  

• CAE, Stress Analysis and Simulation :

Using CAE software, the 3D modeled products can be studied under simulated working conditions such as static, dynamic and variant mechanical and thermal stresses. From the study results, important decisions can be taken to improve the design and the product added-value such as modifying the materials and weight, increasing wall thickness, modifying holes and fillets, etc. Product life time, durability, performance and human satiety factors can be also predicted from the analysis results.
Software Tools:

• ANSYS 10 (finite element analysis)
  

• Rapid Prototyping and Manufacturing using REAL METALS

3D printing - Rapid Prototyping - Rapid Manufacturing - Free Form Fabrication are all the new names for the technologies that are used to output the electronic model from the computer screen direct into real product - made from real materials - using only one machine.
Our lab has installed m3Linear, the first machine in Africa and the Middle East that builds REAL METAL products that output directly from the computer screen. m3Linear uses laser to melt and micro weld the particles of the layered powders until the complete solid is formed.

• Metallic powder is hereby fully fused layer for layer to produce a 100% component density. A specially developed exposure strategy allows the generation of solid and large-volume components without any deformation. A patented surface post-treatment process directly after the construction process ensures the highest surface quality and hardness. Countless technical refinements such as automatic powder evacuation, a separately developed coating system and a circulating inert gas atmosphere make the M3 linear a machine concept in a class of its own.
  

• The products have density up to100%, very homogeneous microstructure and industrial acceptable surface roughness. Small details and very thin walls up to 1 mm can be built efficiently without problems and near real strength.

Products can be built by any type of metallic powder such as stainless steel, tool steel and alloy steel, etc.
Products can be Metallic products: low productions batches, spare parts, tools, die and mold inserts, medical implants, etc.
Hardware Tools:

• m3Linear (by Concept-laser, Germany)

Facilities

M3Linear Metal Rapid Prototyping System

Based on using laser micro welding of any type of metallic powder such as stainless steel, tool steel and alloy steel, LaserCUSING  fusion of single-component metallic powder materials - allows the layer-by-layer construction of components from almost all metallic materials (e.g. stainless steel and hot work steel powders). Metallic products: low productions batches, spare parts, tools, die and mold inserts, medical implants, etc.

NVision Si2 Plastic 3D Printer Rapid Prototyping

Excellent part resolution and surface finish
Durable part material
"Melt-away" supports
"Plug and play" operation
Network-ready
Intelligent job queuing
Quickly produce parts directly from 3-D CAD data
Address a wide range of applications
Models for Concept development, Design validation, Presentation, marketing and selling aids, Bid packages, Prototypes for form and fit analysis and Patterns for casting or molding

Cyclone II 3D Scanner (Laser and Mechanical Probe)

Dedicated off-line scanning leaves machine tools free to cut metal.
High speed scanning reduces lead times from pattern to finished part.
Available with both contact and non-contact (Laser) scanning probes.
Quiet and clean in operation - allows installation in an office-like environment, 3D scanning and contour tracing of complex geometry products and curved surfaces. Reverse engineering for spare parts.

Laser cutting and welding of sheet metals

Cutting complex 2D and 3D contours.
Cutting and trimming automotive parts.

Projects

Rapid and Direct Manufacturing of Both Medical Implants and Automotive
and Aerospace Mechanical Components from Titanium Based Alloys.

Principal Investigator (PI)

ABSTRACT

Titanium based alloys are superior materials and they are the best candidates for several important applications. For example, because titanium is biocompatible (non-toxic and is not rejected by the body), it is used in a gamut of medical applications including surgical implements and implants, such as hip balls that can stay in place for 20 years. In addition, due to their high tensile strength to density ratio, high corrosion resistance, and ability to withstand moderately high temperatures without creeping, titanium alloys are also used in aircraft, naval ships, spacecraft, and missiles. Unfortunately, according to the governmental statistics, every year Egypt imports large number of Titanium based medical implants. This increases due to the increase in car accidents and other medical problems in Egypt. Currently, there is no local source to supply Titanium implants in Egypt because of their high cost and manufacturing problem. For similar reasons, Egypt does not
produce Titanium based mechanical components which are the cornerstones in future aerospace and automotive industries. On the other hand, rapid prototyping and manufacturing (RPM) is a very recent manufacturing technology through which the digital computer models is instantaneously transferred to real physical objects using layer-by-layer material adding technique. The raw materials, especially metals are supplied as very fine powder layers and very fast scanning laser beam is used to melt
and join the powder particles and the layers, based on selective profiles, until the complete part is formed. RPM has proved to be very successful and efficient process to manufacture Titanium components especially parts with complicated geometries like medical implants. Supplying Titanium in the form of very fine powders overcomes the major industrial problem that Titanium alloys are very hard metals and cannot be easily shaped using traditional machining tools. Besides, using laser beam to melt and join the very fine particles (less than 30 microns) allows building free-form geometries very accurately. The Central Metallurgical Research and Development Institute (CMRDI) has the unique metal RPM facilities available in Egypt and the Middle East and they have contributed to develop several research-based products using steel and stainless steel metal powders. In addition, they have all the necessary software tools to design either human-body tailored medical implants or automotive and aerospace mechanical components. Equally important, the research staff has
acquired concrete background to manufacture Titanium products through their international relations with research institutions in Germany and South Africa who are working in similar projects.
 

 Recent Publications

• Benchmark comparison to evaluate five 3D printers and rapid prototyping systems, Abdel Ghany, K [in the reviewing process]
• Evaluation of the product quality of four powder metal based rapid prototyping and manufacturing systems, Abdel Ghany, K. and Moustafa, S. F. [in the reviewing process]
• Cutting of 1.2 mm thick austenitic stainless steel sheet using pulsed and CW Nd:YAG Laser, Abdel Ghany, K. and Newishy, M. Journal of Materials Processing Technology, Elsevier Pub.,[accepted - to be published in 2005.]
• E-Engineering and Rapid Prototyping Manufacturing as new trends for development of SME's in Egypt, Abdel Ghany, K. and Zaghloul, M. B. Proceedings of the 2nd conference of the Engineering Research Division, National Research Center, Cairo, Egypt, Nov. 2005.
  
• E-Engineering and Rapid Prototyping Manufacturing: The keys for Perfect product for export, Zaghloul, M. B. and Abdel Ghany, K. Proceedings of the 15th conference of the Egyptian Society of Mechanical Engineers (ESME), Alexandria, March 2005.
• Cutting of 1.2 mm thick austenitic stainless steel sheet using pulsed and CW Nd:YAG Laser, Abdel Ghany, K. and Newishy, M.Journal of Materials Processing Technology, Elsevier Pub.[accepted - to be published in 2005.]
• Cutting 1 mm zinc coated metals using Nd:YAG laser and 6 axes robot, Abdel Ghany, K., Abdel Rafea, H. and Newishy, M.Journal of Advanced Materials Technology, Elsevier Pub. [accepted - to be published in 2005.]
• The effect of using oxygen, nitrogen and air on the cutting quality of 1.2 mm mild steel and stainless steel sheets using Nd:YAG laser delivered by optical fiber and robot, Abdel Ghany, K., El-Batahgy, A. and Newishy, M.IIW International Congress on Welding and Allied Processes, Cairo, Egypt, (Dec. 2004)
• Cutting of 1.2 mm Mild Steel Using Nd:YAG Laser and 6 Axes Robot , Abdel Ghany, K., El-Batahgy, A. and Newishy, M.Proceedings of Global Conference on Manufacturing and Mangement (GCMM2004), Velure, India, 2004.
• Off-line programming and simulation software for robots and Laser Processing systems, Abdel Ghany, K.Proceedings of international conference of manufacturing and management: PCMM, Bangkok, Thailand, November 2002.