Product Code: ICAL09_1001

New Developments in 3D Laser Additive Manufacturing
Authors:
James Sears, South Dakota School of Mines & Technology; Rapid City SD USA
Vojislav Kalanovic, Control Systems Technology; Rapid City SD USA
Jovan Mirilovic, -; -
Presented at ICALEO 2009

Laser Additive Manufacturing (LAM) titanium powder consolidation has been practiced for a number of years. The LAM technology holds great promise for repair, direct fabrication and modification of Titanium Alloy components, This technology can also provide for surface modification through alloying and physical texturing. The LAM technology has been applied to the development of a number of aerospace applications through its ability to add almost any powder material to a surface of an existing sub-structure. However, this technology as been limit by the inability of systems to operate in a true 3-D environment. The limitations have been the result of the inability to easily translate from solid models and program the system to have coordinated motion with 6 degrees of freedom and program in parameter changes at selected points. This presentation describes a new technology that allows true three-dimensional fabrication to those applications where a high resolution and tolerances are important (e.g., knife edges, seal edges, optics fixtures). This new technology, MicroLam, an adaptation of the flexible robotic environment (FRE) to LAM, is being developed to fabricate bio-medical devices under an grant from the US Army Medical Command. The MicroLam employs a six axis coordinated motion system with a higher resolution (~100 microns) than previously possible for other LAM systems. The general areas where this and the current LAM technologies will be direct includes but is not limited to:repair of complex structures, fabrication of additive shapes on existing structures; seal edges, leading edges; wear resistant surfaces containing a variety of conventional carbides, silicides, borides and novel nano-particle reinforcements; build up of functional material on wrought and cast structures; and functionally gradient transition layers.