The use of molten aluminum droplets is investigated for potential application to precision droplet-based net-form manufacturing (PDM). In the proposed application, final structural components are made from the raw stock in one integrated operation by depositing molten metal droplets, layer after layer, via computer information. This work investigates the feasibility of the proposed technology by investigating the issues associated with generating molten aluminum droplets from capillary stream break-up, and examining the mechanical characteristics of the fabricated aluminum components. New results are presented which illustrate the generation of stable streams of molten aluminum droplets at rates of 24,000 droplets/second for a droplet stream speed of 10.9 m/s, corresponding to throughput rates of 2.3×10−4 kg/s (1.85 lb./hour). The droplets travel 2,500 droplet diameters in an inert environment before impingement with the substrate. Microstructural images are completely devoid of splat boundaries, which have been removed by remelting, and the grain size is approximately uniform throughout the field of view of the image that, in most cases presented, contains easily upwards of 30 splats. Also, it has been found that the presence of aluminum oxide in the melt does not influence the average grain size of the component. An oxide barrier however will encapsulate each grain if the oxides are not removed by filtration in the pre-jetting stage. The presence of aluminum oxide in the melt does not prohibit the removal of the splat boundaries. Mechanical analysis shows that fabrication with molten aluminum droplet deposition results in a 30 percent increase in ultimate tensile strength compared to the raw ingot stock. [S1087-1357(00)02402-3]
