Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Publication
    Automated Tool-Path Generation for Rapid Manufacturing of Additive Manufacturing Directed Energy Deposition Geometries
    ( 2020) ;
    Wang, Jiahan
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    Kaiser, Lukas
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    In additive manufacturing (AM) directed energy deposition (DED), parts are built by welding layers of powder or wire feedstock onto a substrate with applications for steel powders in the fields of forging tools, spare parts, and structural components for various industries. For large and bulky parts, the choice of tool-paths influences the build rate, the mechanical performance, and the distortions in a highly geometry-dependent manner. With weld-path lengths in the range of hundreds of meters, a reliable, automated tool-path generation is essential for the usability of DED processes. This contribution presents automated tool-path generation approaches and discusses the results for arbitrary geometries. So-called “zig-zag” and “contour-parallel” processing strategies are investigated and the tool-paths are automatically formatted into machine-readable g-code for experimental validation to build sample geometries. The results are discussed in regard to volume-fill, microstructure, and porosity in dependence of the path planning according to photographs and metallographic cross-sections.
  • Publication
    Microstructure of Inconel 718 parts with constant mass energy input manufactured with direct energy deposition
    ( 2019)
    Petrat, Torsten
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    ;
    Graf, Benjamin
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    The laser-based direct energy deposition (DED) as a technology for additive manufacturing allows the production of near net shape components. Industrial applications require a stable process to ensure reproducible quality. Instabilities in the manufacturing process can lead to faulty components which do not meet the required properties. The DED process is adjusted by various parameters such as laser power, velocity, powder mass flow and spot diameter, which interact with each other. A frequently used comparative parameter in welding is the energy per unit length and is calculated from the laser power and the velocity in laser welding. The powder per unit length comparative parameter in the DED process has also be considered, because this filler material absorbs energy in addition to the base material. This paper deals with the influence of mass energy as a comparative parameter for determining the properties of additively manufactured parts. The same energy per unit length of 60 J/mm as well as the same powder per unit length of 7.2 mg/mm can be adjusted with different parameter sets. The energy per unit length and the powder per unit length determine the mass energy. The laser power is varied within the experiments between 400 W and 900 W. Energy per unit length and powder per unit length are kept constant by adjusting velocity and powder mass flow. Using the example of Inconel 718, experiments are carried out with the determined parameter sets. In a first step, individual tracks are produced and analyzed by means of micro section. The geometry of the tracks shows differences in height and width. In addition, the increasing laser power leads to a higher dilution of the base material. To determine the suitability of the parameters for additive manufacturing use, the individual tracks are used to build up parts with a square base area of 20×20 mm². An investigation by Archimedean principle shows a higher porosity with lower laser power. By further analysis of the micro sections, at low laser power, connection errors occur between the tracks. The results show that laser power, velocity and powder mass flow must be considered in particular, because a constant mass energy can lead to different geometric as well as microscopic properties.
  • Publication
    Porosity of LMD manufactured parts analyzed by Archmimedes method and CT
    ( 2018)
    Marko, Angelina
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    Raute, Julius
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    Linaschke, Dorit
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    Graf, Benjamin
    ;
    Pores in additive manufactured metal parts occur due to different reasons and affect the part quality negatively. Few investigations on the origins of porosity are available, especially for Ni-based super alloys. This paper presents a new study to examine the influence of common processing parameters on the formation of pores in parts built by laser metal deposition using Inconel 718 powder. Further, a comparison between the computed tomography (CT) and the Archimedes method was made. The investigation shows that CT is able to identify different kinds of pores and to give further information about their distribution. The identification of some pores as well as their shape can be dependent on the parameter setting of the analysis tool. Due to limited measurement resolution, CT is not able to identify correctly pores with diameters smaller than 0.1 mm, which leads to a false decrease in overall porosity. The applied Archimedes method is unable to differentiate between gas porosity and other kinds of holes like internal cracks or lack of fusion, but it delivered a proper value for overall porosity. The method was able to provide suitable data for the statistical evaluation with design of experiments, which revealed significant parameters on the formation of pores in LMD.