Laser Metal Wire drop-by-drop Deposition: a material and dilution investigation

Abstract

Additive Manufacturing has become a field of high interest in the industry, mostly due to its strong freedom of design and its flexibility. Numerous Additive Manufacturing techniques exist and present different advantages and disadvantages. The technique investigated in this research is a drop-by-drop deposition alternative to Laser Metal Wire Deposition. This technique is expected to induce a better control over the power input in the material, resulting in a better power efficiency and tailorable material properties. The aim of this research is to investigate selected material properties of the structures produced with the drop-by-drop deposition technique. Multi-drops structures were deposited from 316L, Inconel 625 (NW6625) and AlSi5 (AW4043) wires. Two drop deposition methods were investigated: (i) a contactless recoil pressure driven detachment for 316L and Inconel 625, (ii) a contact-based surface tension driven detachment for AlSi5. A material characterization including optical microscopy, EDS and hardness measurements was performed in transverse and longitudinal cross-sections. The microstructure of the deposited material, the dilution with the substrate and the heat affected zone were analysed. The contactless detachment showed a higher dilution than the contact-based technique due to the laser irradiating the substrate between two drop detachments, which melts the substrate that then mixes with the deposited drops.