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Thermal Behavior in the Lens Process
Direct laser metal deposition processing is a promising manufacturing technology which
could significantly impact the length oftime between initial concept and finished part. For
adoption ofthis technology in the manufacturing environment, further understanding is required
to ensure robust components with appropriate properties are routinelyfabricated. This requires a
complete understanding ofthe thermal history.during part fabrication and control ofthis behavior.
This paper will describe our research to understand the thermal behavior for the Laser Engineered
Net Shaping (LENS) process!, where a component is fabricated by focusing a laser beam onto a
substrate to create a molten pool in which powder particles are simultaneously injected to build
each layer. The substrate is moved beneath the l~ser beam to deposit a thin cross section, thereby
creating the desired geometry for each layer. After deposition of each layer, the powder delivery
nozzle and focusing lens assembly is incremented in the positive Z-direction, thereby building a
three dimensional component layer additively.
It is important to control the thermal behavior to reproducibly fabricate parts. The
ultimate intent is to monitor the thermal signatures and to incorporate sensors and feedback
algorithms to control part fabrication. With appropriate control, the geometric properties
(accuracy, surface finish, low warpage) as well as the materials' properties (e.g. strength,
ductility) of a component can be dialed into the part through the fabrication parameters. Thermal
monitoring techniques will be described, and their particular benefits highlighted. Preliminary
details in correlating thermal behavior with processing results will be discussed.Mechanical Engineerin