Practical Issues in the Application of Direct Metal Laser Sintering

Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) was introduced to meet the objective of producing metal parts directly from CAD data. CRDM has accumulated six years of experience in applying this technique, mostly to prototyping parts for evaluation. For some applications, such as blow moulds, porosity generated in DMLS has proved to be beneficial, but for others a concession on tolerances or finish are necessary and/or complementary operations are required, which add to manufacturing time and cost. This paper examines such issues through some well chosen examples of parts to demonstrate both the strengths and weaknesses of the DMLS process.Mechanical Engineerin

DMLS and Manufacturing

Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) has been used for manufacturing prototypes, functional metal components and prototype tools for more than 10 years. During this period the technology has advanced to a level where direct production of complex metallic parts for various applications is everyday life and manufacturing with its various challenges is its main target. The shift from prototyping to production requires changes in the technology and also in the organizations taking part in the shift. This paper presents the latest status of the DMLS technology and materials development trends for different application areas using EOSINT M270 laser sintering machine. Commercially launched materials include presently biomedical materials like Titanium and Cobalt Chrome alloys, ultra high strength Maraging Steel alloy, Stainless Steels and other high-end engineering materials. In addition, there are many materials which have been developed for evaluation purposes, waiting for industrial applications.Mechanical Engineerin

Fatigue response of as built DMLS processed Maraging Steel and effects of machining and heat and surface treatments

The main motivations for this study arise from the need for an assessment of the fatigue performance of DMLS produced Maraging Steel MS1, when it is used in the \u201cas fabricated\u201d state. The literature indicates a lack of knowledge from this point of view, moreover the great potentials of the additive process may be more and more incremented, if an easier and cheaper procedure could be used after the building stage. The topic has been tackled experimentally, investigating the impact of heat treatment, machining and micro-shot-peening on the fatigue strength with respect to the \u201cas built state\u201d. The results indicate that heat treatment significantly enhances the fatigue response, probably due to the relaxation of the post-process tensile residual stresses. Machining can also be effective, but it must be followed (not preceded) by micro-shot-peening, to benefit from the compressive residual stress state generated by the latter

Traumatic Brain Injury Induces Genome-Wide Transcriptomic, Methylomic, and Network Perturbations in Brain and Blood Predicting Neurological Disorders.

The complexity of the traumatic brain injury (TBI) pathology, particularly concussive injury, is a serious obstacle for diagnosis, treatment, and long-term prognosis. Here we utilize modern systems biology in a rodent model of concussive injury to gain a thorough view of the impact of TBI on fundamental aspects of gene regulation, which have the potential to drive or alter the course of the TBI pathology. TBI perturbed epigenomic programming, transcriptional activities (expression level and alternative splicing), and the organization of genes in networks centered around genes such as Anax2, Ogn, and Fmod. Transcriptomic signatures in the hippocampus are involved in neuronal signaling, metabolism, inflammation, and blood function, and they overlap with those in leukocytes from peripheral blood. The homology between genomic signatures from blood and brain elicited by TBI provides proof of concept information for development of biomarkers of TBI based on composite genomic patterns. By intersecting with human genome-wide association studies, many TBI signature genes and network regulators identified in our rodent model were causally associated with brain disorders with relevant link to TBI. The overall results show that concussive brain injury reprograms genes which could lead to predisposition to neurological and psychiatric disorders, and that genomic information from peripheral leukocytes has the potential to predict TBI pathogenesis in the brain

Discrete mode lasers for applications in access networks

Fast development of the modern telecommunication networks such as fiber-to-the-home or radio-over-fiber systems require an inexpensive yet reliable optical transmitter for electro-optic conversion. Such devices should be able to generate stable, single moded optical signals suitable for athermal operation. Discrete Mode Lasers (DMLs) are able to fulfill all the above-mentioned requirements with the added benefit of low sensitivity to optical feedback. DMLs are essentially Fabry-Perot lasers in which the refractive index is modified by introducing perturbations along very small sections of the laser cavity. These modifications result in a single mode laser output with a very narrow linewidth (order of 400 kHz). In this paper, we demonstrate how a DML can outperform the commonly used/commercially available DFB lasers in terms of linewidth, sensitivity to optical feedback and transmission performance in the presence of feedback

From Powders to Dense Metal Parts: Characterization of a Commercial AlSiMg Alloy Processed through Direct Metal Laser Sintering

In this paper, a characterization of an AlSiMg alloy processed by direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) is presented, from the analysis of the starting powders, in terms of size, morphology and chemical composition, through to the evaluation of mechanical and microstructural properties of specimens built along different orientations parallel and perpendicular to the powder deposition plane. With respect to a similar aluminum alloy as-fabricated, a higher yield strength of about 40% due to the very fine microstructure, closely related to the mechanisms involved in this additive process is observe

Approach Tolerance in the Assemblies of Evolutionary Hybrid Prototypes

A new answer is proposed to replace the traditional “one shot” prototype (manufactured in one piece with one process): the hybrid rapid prototype. It is used to highly reduce time, cost and increase reactivity during the development times of new products. The part is decomposed in several components which can quickly be changed and can be manufactured with a process the most adapted. The main objective of the presented method is to propose an available technological assembly between the different components of the part in the respect of technological and topological function, and initial tolerance. Using a graph of representation, fuzzy logic and a tolerance point of view, some entities are associated with a CIA (Assembly Identity Card) in accordance with evolutionary and manufacturing analysis. This work will be illustrated by an industrial tooling for plastic injection.Mechanical Engineerin