Citation: Kudrna, L.; Ma, Q.-P.;
Hajnys, J.; Mesicek, J.; Halama, R.;
Fojtik, F.; Hornacek, L. Restoration
and Possible Upgrade of a Historical
Motorcycle Part Using Powder Bed
Fusion. Materials 2022, 15, 1460.
https://doi.org/10.3390/
ma15041460
Academic Editors: Ludwig Cardon
and Clemens Holzer
Received: 3 January 2022
Accepted: 14 February 2022
Published: 16 February 2022
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Article
Restoration and Possible Upgrade of a Historical Motorcycle
Part Using Powder Bed Fusion
Lukas Kudrna
1
, Quoc-Phu Ma
2,
* , Jiri Hajnys
2
, Jakub Mesicek
2
, Radim Halama
3
, Frantisek Fojtik
3
and Lukas Hornacek
4
1
Department of Machine and Industrial Design, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering,
VSB-Technical University of Ostrava, 708 00 Ostrava, Czech Republic; lukas.kudrna@vsb.cz
2
Department of Machining, Assembly and Engineering Metrology, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering,
VSB-Technical University of Ostrava, 708 00 Ostrava, Czech Republic; jiri.hajnys@vsb.cz (J.H.);
jakub.mesicek@vsb.cz (J.M.)
3
Department of Applied Mechanics, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, VSB-Technical University of Ostrava,
708 00 Ostrava, Czech Republic; radim.halama@vsb.cz (R.H.); frantisek.fojtik@vsb.cz (F.F.)
4
HORIBA Czech Olomouc Factory, Zeleznicni 512/7, 772 00 Olomouc, Czech Republic;
lukas.hornacek@horiba.com
* Correspondence: phu.ma.quoc@vsb.cz; Tel.: +420-607-326-979
Abstract:
Reverse engineering is the process of creating a digital version of an existing part without
any knowledge in advance about the design intent. Due to 3D printing, the reconstructed part can
be rapidly fabricated for prototyping or even for practical usage. To showcase this combination,
this study presents a workflow on how to restore a motorcycle braking pedal from material SS316L
with the Powder Bed Fusion (PBF) technology. Firstly, the CAD model of the original braking pedal
was created. Before the actual PBF printing, the braking pedal printing process was simulated to
identify the possible imperfections. The printed braking pedal was then subjected to quality control
in terms of the shape distortion from its CAD counterpart and strength assessments, conducted
both numerically and physically. As a result, the exterior shape of the braking pedal was restored.
Additionally, by means of material assessments and physical tests, it was able to prove that the
restored pedal was fully functional. Finally, an approach was proposed to optimize the braking pedal
with a lattice structure to utilize the advantages the PBF technology offers.
Keywords:
reverse engineer; powder bed fusion; SS316L; printing simulation; 3D scanning; electronic
speckle pattern interferometry; lattice structure
1. Introduction
Three-dimensional printing is an additive production technology, in which a physical
part is produced layer by layer from a 3D model [
1
]. It is classified as per the technology
used to fabricate the layers, which is governed by the standard ISO/ASTM 52900:2015 [
2
].
Among various categories, there is the Powder Bed Fusion (PBF) method, which uses a
high-energy laser source to bond metal powder particles together layer by layer to form
near net shape, fully dense, and functional parts from metals [3].
Three-dimensional printing in general and PBF, in particular, can be deployed to
manufacture parts that are not fabricable with the traditional machines, i.e., the lattice
structures. By definition, lattices are open-celled structures that are made up of repeated
unit cells. A lattice design is specified by its overall dimension, types, and topology
(connection) of the unit cells. The most common lattice structure is the strut type, which
is composed of strut units connected in a pre-specified manner depending on the loading
specifications. By the modification of material usage, topology, and geometry, one can tune
the properties of these lattice designs to their needs, some of which cannot be achieved
with the bulk materials, e.g., in the fields of mechanics, acoustics, and dielectrics. Indeed,
Materials 2022, 15, 1460. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15041460 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/materials
