What Is Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM)?

In order to use 3D printing technology as a sanction, it is necessary to optimize topology, component unification, and reduce weight need for advanced manufacturing design. In the case of metal 3D printing, it is necessary to manage deformation and defects in the process cause of using laser, and support generation and design optimization must be accompanied for efficiency. Currently, design progresses through simulation before actual production in AM field. This chapter explores design in additive manufacturing.

Direct Laser Fabrication of Compositionally Complex Materials

Additive manufacturing (AM) opens up the possibility of a direct build-up of components with sophisticated internal features or overhangs that are difficult to manufacture by a single conventional method. As a cost-efficient, tool-free, and digital approach to manufacturing components with complex geometries, AM of metals offers many critical benefits to various sectors such as aerospace, medical, automotive, and energy compared to conventional manufacturing processes. Direct laser fabrication (DLF) uses pre-alloyed powder mix or in-situ alloying of the elemental powders for metal additive manufacturing with excellent chemical homogeneity. It, therefore, shows great promise to enable the production of complex engineering components. This technique allows the highest build rates of the AM techniques with no restrictions on deposit size/shape and the fabrication of graded and hybrid materials by simultaneously feeding different filler materials. The advantages and disadvantages of DLF on the fabrication of compositionally complex metallic alloys are discussed in the chapter.

Additive Manufacturing of Nickel-Based Super Alloys for Aero Engine Applications

Ni based super alloys are widely used in engine turbines because of their proven performance at high temperatures. Manufacturing these parts by additive manufacturing (AM) methods provides researchers a lot of creative space for complex design to improve efficiency. Powder bed fusion (PBF) and direct energy deposition (DED) are the two most widely-used metal AM methods. Both methods are influenced by the source, parameters, design, and raw material. Selective laser melting is one of the laser-based PBF techniques to create small layer thickness and complex geometry with greater accuracy and properties. The layer-by-layer metal addition generates epitaxial growth and solidification in the built direction. There are different second phases in the Ni-based superalloys. This chapter details the micro-segregation of these particles and its influence on the microstructure, and mechanical properties are dependent on the process influencing parameters, the thermal kinetics during the process, and the post-processing treatments.

Powder Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing of Ni-Based Superalloys

Emerging additive manufacturing technologies have been gaining interest from different industries and widened their fields of application among aerospace and defense. The introduction of powder bed fusion processes was one of the significant developments in terms of direct metal part manufacturing of different materials and complex geometries, presenting good properties, and decreasing the need for tooling to allow fast product development as well as small-volume production. In this respect, nickel-based superalloys are one of the most employed material groups for aerospace and defense applications due to their mechanical strength, creep, wear, and oxidation resistance at both ambient and elevated temperatures. Nevertheless, the use of some materials has not become widespread due to several reasons such as processing difficulties, absence of design criteria or material properties. This chapter presents a comprehensive benchmark for powder bed fusion additive manufacturing of nickel-based superalloys considering applications, characteristics, and limitations.

Multiscale Modeling of the Laser Additive Manufacturing Process

Additive manufacturing (AM) has emerged as the most versatile process in the manufacturing sector. The advantages of AM such as applicability in a wide range of industries, ease of manufacturing, and reduction in waste production have increased its demand over the past decades. Out of the many techniques under AM, direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) is one of the most efficient manufacturing techniques that uses a high-powered laser beam to sinter metal powders in a layer-by-layer fashion. With the current usage of computational modeling, the prediction of microstructure evolution and other thermo-mechanical properties of different materials have been of great advantage to researchers. Along with a detailed classification of AM techniques, this chapter focuses on the use of continuum, phase field, and atomistic modeling under the DMLS process. The results show that multiscale modeling can be advantageous in gaining deeper insight into various phenomena like diffusion and sintering.

Wire + Arc Additive Manufacturing of Metals

Wire + Arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) processes have become popular because of their proven capabilities to produce large metallic components with high deposition rates (promoted by arc-based processes) compared to conventional additive manufacturing processes such as powder bed fusion, binder jetting, direct energy deposition, etc. The applications of WAAM processes were constantly increasing in the manufacturing sector, which necessitates an understanding of the process capability to various metals. This chapter outlines the significant outcomes of the WAAM process for most of the engineering metals in terms of microstructure and mechanical properties. Discussion on various defects associated with the processed components is also presented. Potential application of WAAM for different metals such as aluminum and its alloys, titanium, and steels was discussed. The research indicates that the components manufactured by the WAAM process have significant microstructural changes and improved mechanical properties.

Simulation Applications for Industrial and Medical Products Additive Manufacturing

For 3D printing technology to be used at the manufacturing site, excellent 3D printers, materials, and software are essential. Moreover, in the additive manufacturing (AM) process, software simulation is becoming more important as materials are diversified, and output shapes are more complicated and larger. The goal of the AM process simulation is to prevent build-up failures by predicting the macroscopic distortion and stress of the part. In the AM process simulation, structural deflection or thermal deformation easily occurs in the case where the shape of the additive manufacturing products is large and complex. So, it is necessary to provide more optimized parameters for the build-up process and more precise production of supporters. This chapter is an example of applying AM process simulation to industrial and medical parts to produce excellent products.

Insights on Laser Additive Manufacturing of Invar 36

Recently, additive manufacturing (AM) became a promising technology to manufacture complex structures with acceptable mechanical properties. The laser powder-bed fusion (L-PBF) process is one of the most common AM processes that has been used for producing a wide variety of metals and composites. Invar 36 is an austenite iron-nickel alloy that has a very low coefficient of thermal expansion; therefore, it is a good candidate for the L-PBF process. This chapter covers the state-of-the-art for producing Invar 36 using the L-PBF process. The chapter aims at describing research insights of using metal AM techniques in producing Invar 36 components. Like most of nickel-based alloys, Invar 36 is weldable but hard-to-machine. However, there are some challenges while processing these alloys by laser. This chapter also covers the challenges of using the L-PBF process for producing nickel-based alloys. In addition, it reports the L-PBF conditions that could be used to produce fully dense Invar 36 components with mechanical properties comparable to the wrought Invar 36.

Laser Additive Manufacturing in Industry 4.0

Additive manufacturing is one of the nine technologies fuelling the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0). High power lasers augmented with allied digital technologies is changing the entire manufacturing scenario through metal additive manufacturing by providing feature-based design and manufacturing with the technology called laser additive manufacturing (LAM). It enables the fabrication of customized components having complex and lightweight designs with high performance in a short period. The chapter compiles the evolution and global status of LAM technology highlighting its advantages and freedoms for various industrial applications. It discusses how LAM is contributing to Industry 4.0 for the fabrication of customized engineering and prosthetic components through case studies. It compiles research, development, and deployment scenarios of this new technology in developing economies along with the future scope of the technology.

Optimization and Simulation of Additive Manufacturing Processes

Additive manufacturing (AM) has developed and gained popularity across the globe into a multi-billion-dollar industry that involves many materials and techniques. AM has created itself as a technology for the manufacturing of metallic parts with enhanced mechanical characteristics that are scientifically sound and commercially feasible. However, there are various challenges, from business point of view, like high machine and material costs. Considering the complexities involved, sustainable manufacturing, optimization tools, and simulation models are necessary in order to save time and costly trial and errors. Topology optimization and simulation of AM processes are commercially available and are receiving attention from scientists and industry. Thus, this chapter is designed to provide readers with a brief introduction to AM technologies with typical applications. The main objective of this chapter is to provide the current trends and innovations in the field of design for additive manufacturing (DFAM), topology optimization, and simulation technologies.