The automotive industry has experienced rapid development in recent years, with a significant increase in the number of vehicles in China. To effectively reduce the energy consumption and carbon emissions of automobiles, implementing lightweight design for the steering knuckle structure is essential. In this paper, in order to prepare steering knuckle parts with less weight, the material of steering knuckle was changed from 40Cr to polyether ether ketone (PEEK), which has less density, while maintaining the performance of the part. Fused deposition molding (FDM) technology, as one of the main methods of thermoplastic material manufacturing, has the ability to machine any complex geometrical structure, which greatly enhances the degree of design freedom. However, in the case of FDM technology, the print parameters determine the performance of the printed sample. Based on this, this paper will explore the influence of process parameters on the mechanical properties of PEEK materials through orthogonal experiments to screen out the optimal parameter combinations for printing. For the printing layer height of 0.1mm, the temperature of the holding chamber is 90 ℃, the filling method for the spiral tetrahedron. The PEEK materials molded under the optimal parameters of FDM were insulated to investigate the effect of the heat treatment process on the mechanical properties of PEEK materials. The loaded condition of the steering knuckle in each working condition is calculated by the basic parameters of the car, the dangerous cross section of the part is determined by simulation, and the structural optimal design of the part is carried out by topology optimization. Under the premise of ensuring its mechanical properties, minimize the amount of material to achieve the goal of lightweight.

Selective laser melting (SLM) is considered to be a highly significant additive manufacturing (AM) technology, with the capacity to produce complex shapes that would be difficult to achieve using other methods. However, the broad application of this method is limited by problems like harmful microstructures and porosity, especially during the processing of aluminum alloys. Laser shock peening (LSP) provides a promising approach to reduce the adverse effects linked to aluminium SLM. This research examines how a critical LSP parameter, specifically the number of impacts, influences AlSi10Mg parts produced by SLM. The results were assessed with porosity, microstructure, and microhardness. Results show a 72% reduction in porosity. Furthermore, microstructural analysis revealed discernible grain refinement, accompanied by enhanced hardness. Tensile testing further confirmed the effectiveness of LSP, showing increases in both ultimate tensile strength and yield strength. These results suggest that LSP can effectively address the limitations of the SLM process for demanding applications when used as a post-processing technique.

To achieve lightweighting of the aircraft landing gear door hinge under opening and closing loads, a topological optimization model based on the variable density method was established, with structural stiffness as the constraint and minimum mass as the objective. The hinge was redesigned according to the optimized configuration, and the stiffness and strength of the design area were validated. The original aluminum alloy hinge material was replaced with lower-density polyetheretherketone (PEEK), which can be fabricated into complex structures via fused deposition modeling (FDM), thereby enhancing design freedom for topology optimization. However, FDM-printed PEEK's mechanical properties are influenced by printing parameters. This study conducted tensile tests on PEEK specimens printed with different FDM parameters (e.g., layer height, platform temperature, and infill pattern). The optimal printing parameters were determined as 0.1 mm layer height, 120 °C platform temperature, and tetrahedral infill. Subsequently, the best-performing specimens underwent heat treatment, and the effects of different annealing parameters on tensile strength were investigated. The results showed that annealing at 330 °C for 2 hours yielded the highest strength improvement. Furthermore, the hinge's loading conditions during door operation were simulated via multi-body dynamics analysis, while static simulations under peak loads identified stress concentration areas. Topology optimization was then performed to minimize material usage while maintaining mechanical performance, achieving the lightweight goal.