Timken R&D: Advancing Additive Manufacturing

Commonly called 3D printing, additive manufacturing was originally developed to speed up prototyping. It is now a viable production process that drives innovation in every major industry. Aerospace components made with additive manufacturing enable lighter, efficient and more sustainable aircraft. In medicine, 3D printing builds customized knee replacements for better patient outcomes. 

Timken R&D engineers are currently developing additive manufacturing processes that can help customers address evolving technical and business needs. The goal is to improve manufacturing efficiencies and shorten the supply chain while still achieving desired product performance. 

“Additive manufacturing offers more design freedom, an easier path to lightweighting and a more-efficient production cycle,” said Mangesh Pantawane, principal materials engineer, whose work transforms theoretical research into real-word customer solutions. “It’s still very new. There’s a lot of room for innovation.”

Sankalp Kota and Mangesh Pantawane are next-generation problem solvers advancing Timken R&D in materials science, metallurgy and additive manufacturing. Meet more Timken team members advancing innovation, from studying metallurgy to improve product performance and manufacturability to conducting ground-breaking neutron research that informs the entire scientific community.

Next-generation processes for next-level solutions

In traditional manufacturing facilities, processes like grinding remove layers of materials from a workpiece to create the final product. Additive manufacturing does the opposite — a 3D printer gradually builds up material layers to create a product, as shown here in Timken’s R&D laboratory:  

While the company has invested in building foundational additive manufacturing knowledge for several years, a team of Timken R&D experts are currently exploring how various additive manufacturing techniques can widen material and process selections for a broad range of engineered bearings and industrial motion solutions that can achieve the desired design at competitive costs.  

While there are several additive manufacturing techniques, the team’s efforts are focused on two. The first, laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF), uses a laser to melt metallic powder into layers to build three-dimensional parts. The second, direct energy disposition (DED),  deposits molten metal allowing faster builds. 

Timken has used both techniques to manufacture 3D-printed bearing components currently undergoing testing. The results will yield valuable insights into the impact of 3D printed elements on bearing performance.  

“So far, our research has identified a viable alternative steel grade that enable the 3D printing of the components,” Pantawane continued. “They deliver the same set of mechanical properties and vastly improve supply chain efficiency.”  

A new frontier for product design

Sankalp Kota, materials specialist, believes solving customer problems is at the heart of Timken’s investment in additive manufacturing research. A major driver of the work is developing processes that advance lightweighting and sustainability trends in transportation, medical devices, industrial equipment and consumer products.

For instance, aerospace components manufactured using traditional methods are mostly made from dense metal structures. The density is the result of manufacturing process restrictions in how material is removed — not because it’s required to carry loads. 

3D printing allows product designers to start with additive manufacturing in mind. They can reconsider the internal structure of a component based on application needs rather than manufacturing limitations. Using computer algorithms, engineers can determine just how much metal must be added, and in what design, to ensure product performance. 

“Now you’ve just cut out a significant portion of the weight of the original component,” Kota said. “In aviation, each gram saved amounts to huge cost reductions for operating an aircraft. And it’s built using far less material for sustainability.”

Connecting customers to solutions just in time

Additive manufacturing can also make it easier for customers to procure highly crucial — yet low-volume — solutions from Timken’s broader portfolio. Much of the R&D team’s work has explored the possibility of applying 3D printing to essential industrial motion solutions like ball screws, rod ends and industrial chain.  

“Some customers might order a product once a quarter or once a year, but it’s still critical to their operations,” Kota said. “3D printing allows suppliers to ramp up far more quickly to produce exactly the number of components needed, no inventory or tooling is required.” 

Today, Kota and Pantawane continue to work collaboratively with other areas of Timken R&D, manufacturing and supply chain to advance completely new 3D printing methods unique to bearing manufacturing. The group is exploring options to translate traditional heat treatment processes into the additive manufacturing environment. 

“We’re working on developing exclusive Timken intellectual property,” Kota said. “It will provide competitive advantages for our customers.”  

Customer-centric Timken innovation is informed by initiatives carried out in our world-class Timken R&D laboratories. Learn more about the company’s investment in comprehensive technical pursuits from modeling and predicting product performance to prototyping new engineered bearing solutions.

Published: 2025/04/8