Laser powder deposition

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to review the state of the art of laser powder deposition (LPD), a solid freeform fabrication technique capable of fabricating fully dense functional items from a wide range of common engineering materials, such as aluminum alloys, steels, titanium alloys, nickel superalloys and refractory materials.Design/methodology/approachThe main R&D efforts and the major issues related to LPD are revisited.FindingsDuring recent years, a worldwide series of R&D efforts have been undertaken to develop and explore the capabilities of LPD and to tap into the possible cost and time savings and many potential applications that this technology offers.Originality/valueThese R&D efforts have produced a wealth of knowledge, the main points of which are highlighted herein.

Freeform Laser Consolidated H13 and CPM 9V Tool Steels

“…To that end, laser-cladding-based freeform fabrication [4,5], which could directly fabricate functional shapes (features or structures) without molds and dies, presents a high potential on manufacturing of TDM; representative technologies of such kind include laser engineered net shaping (LENS TM ) [6,7], direct light fabrication (DLF) [8], direct metal deposition (DMD) [9,10], laser direct casting (LDC) [11], and others which have been well documented [4,5]. A lot of investigations have been reported to promote these processes for TDM materials development and rapid manufacturing by direct fabricating functional shapes or by enhancing, repairing, or re-configuring existing TDM with affordable cost [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23].…”

“…A lot of investigations have been reported to promote these processes for TDM materials development and rapid manufacturing by direct fabricating functional shapes or by enhancing, repairing, or re-configuring existing TDM with affordable cost [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]. However, it is also realized that some of these processes might only produce a ''near-net'' shape with rough surface finish and low-dimensional accuracy [4,5,22,23] and, thus, post-machining is a must, which, more or less, could diminish the attractiveness of the processes.…”

Microstructural and Mechanical Study of Inconel 625 – Tungsten Carbide Composite Coatings Obtained by Powder Laser Cladding

“…Choosing optimal parameters of laser cladding process leads to greater control of final properties. Changing process parameters allows to design a material that is able to meet strict requirements [20]. In laser cladding, previously prepared material, in form of powder or wire, is applied directly under the laser beam.…”

Monitoring Approach to Evaluate the Performances of a New Deposition Nozzle Solution for DED Systems

“…As already stated, the process efficiency can be influenced by the design of the powder injection nozzle, since it is capable of modifying interactions among the metallic particles, laser beam, and melt pool [14]. Further, the control of extrinsic parameters can be useful for adjusting deposition errors during the process.…”