Am-driven design of hydraulic manifolds: enhancing fluid flow and reducing weight

Selective laser melting (SLM), one type of metal additive manufacturing (AM) technology, uses a highintensity laser to selectively melt pre-spread metal powders by a layer-on-layer manner. The technology does not only provide a new way of manufacturing but also innovates product design methodology. In this study, a hydraulic block manifold is designed and manufactured using SLM. In this paper, we present an AM-driven design approach of hydraulic manifolds based on a case study. The target is not only to reduce weight but also to enhance fluid flow by optimizing fluid path to reduce pressure drop. The novelty of the research includes developing a design approach of hydraulic manifolds using SLM with a particular focus on fluid flow. Compared to the traditional hydraulic manifold, the weight of the new SLMed hydraulic manifold was reduced by more than 80%, size by half. Pressure loss of the main functional oil circuit was reduced by 31%, illustrating that the new hydraulic manifold design simultaneously achieves lightweight and high performance. This study contributes to providing theoretical guidance to the design of additively manufactured hydraulic components with high performance.