The role of laser in manufacturing of shape memory alloy (sma)

Abstract

Shape Memory Alloys are widely used smart materials in recent times for various applications from aerospace to biomedical field. Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) is made of mixture of different metal powders (Ni-Ti with 50 – 50 Wt% (approximate) can give Nitinol) and/or by using filler metals. However, fusing the selected powder mixture and making as SMA is a challenging task. Researchers used various techniques for making SMA which can be classifed into two major categories likely casting method and powder metallurgy method. Laser power to make SMA is widely used by most of the researchers. These processes are further classified by conventional and non-conventional methods. Under this method various classification like Direct Laser Melting, Selective Laser Melting, Laser Sintering and Laser Cladding are available. In this article, the above-mentioned production methods using laser as major source are studied carefully. The advantages and limitations are also discussed on justifying the suitability of processing SMA by lasers. Along with their limitations the influence of each parameter is focused. Finally, a conclusion is made based on this detailed study.