SNCF Voyageurs has used additive manufacturing technologies for several years. These manufacturing processes offer numerous advantages for railway maintenance, including procurement lead-times, obsolescence and minimum orders quantity management, stock reduction, with the aim of improving the operation of trains in commercial service. The uses of these additive technologies are conducted in a structured manner to meet the specific needs of the supply chain but also the mechanicals functions of the components to be replaced with different steps include evaluation of techniques, suitable design, characterisation, quality control and monitoring. To comply with railway quality and safety standards, SNCF Voyageurs’ Rolling stock Engineering department had to draw up specifications describing its requirements to be able to install parts produced using additive manufacturing technologies on these trains.

To date, three rolling stock Technical Specifications have been produced for the following processes: Fused Filament Fabrication, Selective Laser Sintering for polymer components, Laser beam Powder Bed Fusion and Direct Energy Deposition-Arc-Wire for metallic components. Suppliers wishing to respond to calls for tenders for the supply of components using additive technology must comply with these requirements. For maintenance these Technical Specifications facilitate the use of additive manufacturing technologies while respecting purchasing processes, quality and safety of the trains operated.

Keywords: Specification, PBF-LB, FFF, DED, Railway requirements