Thermocouple Embedding for the Production of a Substrate for Rapid Manufacturing

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Design of Embedded Resistance Heating Element Using Rapid Manufacturing Process

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Evaluation of Mechanical Properties and Microstructure for Laser Deposition Process and Welding Process

Laser Aided Manufacturing Process (LAMP) can be applied to repair steel die/molds which are currently repaired using traditional welding process in industry. In order to fully understand the advantages of laser deposition repair process over traditional welded-repair process, the mechanical properties such as tensile strength and hardness of H13 tool steel samples produced by these two processes were investigated. The microstructure and fracture surface of the samples were analyzed using optical microscope and SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope). Moreover, depositions on substrates with different shapes were studied to evaluate the performance of LAMP on damaged parts with complicated geometric shape.Mechanical Engineerin

A Review of Layer Based Manufacturing Processes for Metals

The metal layered manufacturing processes have provided industries with a fast method to build functional parts directly from CAD models. This paper compares current metal layered manufacturing technologies from including powder based metal deposition, selective laser sinstering (SLS), wire feed deposition etc. The characteristics of each process, including its industrial applications, advantages/disadvantages, costs etc are discussed. In addition, the comparison between each process in terms of build rate, suitable metal etc. is presented in this paper.Mechanical Engineerin

Multi-Axis Planning System (MAPS) for Hybrid Laser Metal Deposition Processes

This paper summarizes the research and development of a Multi-Axis Planning System (MAPS) for hybrid laser metal deposition processes. The project goal is to enable the current direct metal deposition systems to fully control and utilize multi-axis capability to make complex parts. MAPS allows fully automated process planning for multi-axis layered manufacturing to control direct metal deposition machines for automated fabrication. Such a capability will lead to dramatic reductions in lead time and manufacturing costs for high-value, low-volume components with high performance material. The overall approach, slicing algorithm, machine simulation for planning validation, and the planning results will be presented

Development of a Low Cost Imaging System for a Laser Metal Deposition Process

The size of the melt pool created by the laser is one of the most important quality characteristic in a laser metal deposition process. This paper discusses the development of a low-cost vision system to automatically determine the size of the melt pool for in-process control. To cope with the intense infrared signal from the laser and melt pool, external ultraviolet illumination is paired with narrow bandpass filters on a usb microscope to achieve a clear image of the melt pool. The sensitivity of the melt pool to changes in system parameters and various substrate materials are also evaluated

Uncertainty Analysis in Laser Deposition Finish Machining Operations

The Laser Aided Manufacturing Process (LAMP) from Missouri S&T is a laser based metals rapid manufacturing process that uses machining to improve the final part\u27s surface finish. When free-form machining, the absence of enough deposited material results in inconsistent scallop heights which result in poor surface finish or incorrect geometry in the final part. This paper investigates a probabilistic approach to various uncertainties involved in the deposition and subsequent machining of an arbitrary part. Furthermore, this paper analyses the machine errors which makes the response of Scallop Height to exceed the predefined maximum scallop height when traveling along the tool path interval distance. Tackling these problems allows us to achieve the final part shape with higher accuracy

A Strategy for Fabrication Complex Structures via a Hybrid Manufacturing Process

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a strategy for fabricating complex structures via a hybrid manufacturing process. The Laser Aided Manufacturing Process (LAMP) lab at Missouri S&T has developed a hybrid process combining both a direct metal deposition process and a five-axis CNC milling. Accessibility is a difficulty when finish machining internal features. The concept is to pause the deposition process to finish machine an internal feature while it is still visible is one possible solution to this issue. However, this must be done in a manner that will not be spoiled when the deposition process continues. This paper discusses processing strategy, tool selection, and experimental validation of a technique to build complex structures via mid-process machining with an undercutting mill.Mechanical Engineerin

Thermographic Investigation of Laser Metal Deposition

Primitive stages of studies on and with additive manufacturing techniques popularly involve thin wall geometry. In the current effort attempts were made to capture various thermal aspects during deposition of a thin wall geometry. The thermo-graphic data was captured using a FLIR A615 infrared camera. Post processing using edge detection algorithms and image processing techniques, the geometric and thermal aspects of meltpool and tail of the meltpool were obtained. The effect of geometry and power on shape of the meltpool and its tail were obtained. The depositions of SS 316 with varying power. These observations were discussed and analyzed in aim to perform planned deposition of functionally gradient materials in future

A Mechanical Testing Methodology for Metal Additive Manufacturing Processes

Most additive manufacturing processes are layer-by-layer deposition, thus its mechanical properties could be very different than those made from traditional manufacturing processes. This paper summarizes a mini-tensile testing methodology for additive manufacturing. Research concerning the tensile testing of metallic material has been conducted and test methods have been defined. It encompasses the methods for determination of yield strength, yield point elongation, tensile strength, elongation, and reduction of area. The study of positional variation and cooling-rate dependency in case of additive manufacturing proves to be expensive and time consuming with the full-size test specimens. Thus, this paper discussed a technique for testing of tensile properties using miniature sized test specimens. It covers detailed procedures for development of test specimens, actual testing set-up and the analysis of test results.Mechanical Engineerin