Engineers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison) have achieved a major advancement in metal additive manufacturing by mitigating three common defects simultaneously. This breakthrough, led by Associate Professor Lianyi Chen and his research team, could pave the way for broader industry adoption of laser powder bed fusion, a prominent 3D printing technique.
Published on November 16, 2024, in the International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture, the research details how the team identified the mechanisms and optimized processing conditions to address defects that have long plagued metal 3D printing.
“Previous research has normally focused on reducing one type of defect, but that would require the usage of other techniques to mitigate the remaining types of defects,” said Chen. “We developed an approach that can mitigate all the defects—pores, rough surfaces, and large spatters—at once. In addition, our approach allows us to produce a part much faster without any quality compromises.”
Overcoming Challenges in Metal 3D Printing
Metal additive manufacturing offers the ability to create complex shapes that traditional manufacturing cannot achieve. This makes it highly attractive to industries like aerospace, medical, and energy. However, defects such as pores (voids), rough surfaces, and large spatters have significantly limited the reliability and durability of 3D-printed metal parts.
These defects are particularly problematic for applications where part failure is not an option. The UW-Madison team’s method not only improves quality but also increases production speed, addressing two critical challenges in laser powder bed fusion.
The Role of the Ring-Shaped Laser Beam
The breakthrough hinged on replacing the traditional Gaussian-shaped laser beam with an innovative ring-shaped laser beam, provided by nLight, a leading laser technology company. This new beam shape played a crucial role in reducing process instabilities during printing.
The researchers used high-speed synchrotron X-ray imaging at Argonne National Laboratory’s Advanced Photon Source to observe material behavior during printing. Combining these insights with theoretical analysis and numerical simulations, the team identified mechanisms that mitigate defects and stabilize the laser powder bed fusion process.
Enhanced Productivity Without Quality Compromises
The ring-shaped laser beam also enabled deeper material penetration without causing instability, allowing the team to print thicker layers of metal. This adjustment significantly boosted manufacturing productivity without sacrificing quality.
“Because we understood the underlying mechanisms, we could more quickly identify the right processing conditions to produce high-quality parts using the ring-shaped beam,” said Chen.
This combination of defect mitigation and increased productivity has the potential to transform the manufacturing of high-performance metal parts, particularly for industries requiring failure-free reliability.
Teamwork and Innovation Propel Metal 3D Printing Forward
This innovative work was made possible through collaboration between UW-Madison researchers, including Qilin Guo, Luis Escano, Ali Nabaa, and Professor Tim Osswald, alongside experts Samuel Clark and Kamel Fezzaa from Argonne National Laboratory. Supported by funding from the National Science Foundation and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, the team addressed critical challenges in metal additive manufacturing.
By simultaneously tackling defects like pores, rough surfaces, and spatters, the researchers not only enhanced part quality but also achieved significant productivity improvements. This advancement sets a new standard for the reliability and efficiency of laser powder bed fusion, making it more viable for critical applications in industries such as aerospace, medical, and energy.
The innovative ring-shaped laser beam and defect mitigation mechanisms discovered by the team have the potential to drive broader industrial adoption of metal 3D printing, improving the production of high-quality, failure-free components.
Source: engineering.wisc.edu