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Acceleration and Advancement of the Metal Additive Manufacturing Technology

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Additive Manufacturing Technologies".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 October 2023) | Viewed by 5261

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, South Africa
Interests: friction stir welding; friction stir processing; metal matrix materials; surface metal composites; material characterization;
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, South Africa
Interests: friction stir welding; friction stir processing; tungsten inert gas welding; material characterization; metal matrix composites; finite element analysis

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The focus of metal additive manufacturing (MAM) is now changing to the direct production of components, such as medical implants, aircraft engine parts, and jewelry, after years of use as a design and prototype tool. Additive manufacturing does not refer to only a particular technology or technique. However, despite using a vast range of technology, materials, and processes, all additive manufacturing systems follow the same layer-by-layer methodology. MAM is very essential for the growth of the manufacturing industries. It facilitates a faster time to market for stronger and lighter products as well as increased manufacturing efficiencies, waste reduction, and reduced emissions.

This Special Issue is dedicated to research work in relation to the acceleration and advancement of metal additive manufacturing technology. Subjects that will be discussed in this Special Issue will include review articles where the common technologies, industrial applications and current challenges, and proposed future technologies will be explored, as well as research articles displaying the novelty of the same.

Dr. Sipokazi Mabuwa
Dr. Velaphi Msomi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • 3D Printing
  • additive manufacturing technologies
  • friction stir technology
  • powder metallurgy
  • post-treatment
  • simulation and optimization techniques
  • material characterization
  • advanced material processing

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 4892 KiB  
Article
Design and Investigation of a Novel Local Shielding Gas Concept for Laser Metal Deposition with Coaxial Wire Feeding
by Christian Bernauer, Lukas Meinzinger, Avelino Zapata, Xiao Fan Zhao, Siegfried Baehr and Michael F. Zaeh
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(8), 5121; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13085121 - 20 Apr 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2338
Abstract
Laser metal deposition with coaxial wire feeding is a directed energy deposition process in which a metal wire is fed to a laser-induced melt pool. Oxidation occurring during the process is a major challenge as it significantly influences the mechanical properties of the [...] Read more.
Laser metal deposition with coaxial wire feeding is a directed energy deposition process in which a metal wire is fed to a laser-induced melt pool. Oxidation occurring during the process is a major challenge as it significantly influences the mechanical properties of the produced part. Therefore, an inert gas atmosphere is required in the high temperature process zone, whereby local shielding offers significant cost advantages over an inert gas chamber. In this work, a novel local shielding gas nozzle was developed based on basic methods of fluid mechanics. A gas flow-optimized prototype incorporating internal cooling channels was additively manufactured by laser-powder bed fusion and tested for its effectiveness via deposition experiments. Using the developed local shielding gas concept, an unwanted mixing with the atmosphere due to turbulence was avoided and an oxide-free deposition was achieved when processing a stainless steel ER316LSi wire. Furthermore, the effects of the shielding gas flow rate were investigated, where a negative correlation with the melt pool temperature as well as the weld bead width was demonstrated. Finally, a solid cuboid was successfully built up without oxide inclusions. Overheating of the nozzle due to reflected laser radiation could be avoided by the internal cooling system. The concept, which can be applied to most commercially available coaxial wire deposition heads, represents an important step for the economical application of laser metal deposition. Full article
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15 pages, 6033 KiB  
Article
Oscillating Laser-Arc Hybrid Additive Manufacturing of AZ31 Magnesium Alloy
by Ming Gao, Ling Cen, Laihege Jiang, Suning Zhao and Mengcheng Gong
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(2), 897; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13020897 - 9 Jan 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1813
Abstract
To overcome the instability of the traditional magnesium alloy additive process, the research on oscillating laser-arc hybrid additive manufacturing (O-LHAM) for AZ31 Mg alloy was developed first, and it focused on the effect of beam oscillation on process characteristics, such as macroscopic morphology, [...] Read more.
To overcome the instability of the traditional magnesium alloy additive process, the research on oscillating laser-arc hybrid additive manufacturing (O-LHAM) for AZ31 Mg alloy was developed first, and it focused on the effect of beam oscillation on process characteristics, such as macroscopic morphology, porosity defects, microstructure, and mechanical properties of thin-walled components. The increasing oscillation frequency was effective in suppressing the defects, including lack of fusion, wavy hump, internal porosity, etc. Compared with the case without oscillation, the average grain size of O-LHAM samples was refined from 22–32 μm to 18–20 μm at 300 Hz, while the percentage of Al8Mn5 and Mg17Al12 precipitation increased from 1.42–1.61% to 2.55–3.32%. For this reason, a stirring laminar flow was induced using the oscillating laser in the melt pool, with the ability to disrupt the grain structure and provide more nucleation sites, which is beneficial in reducing the average grain size and promoting the precipitation of the precipitated phase. Meanwhile, for the component without pores, the ultimate tensile strength is 205 MPa, slightly less than the base, but the elongation is 20.7%, twice that of the base. The tensile fracture is characterized by a large number of dimples and some ductile tearing ridges, demonstrating good ductility, which is associated with the grain refinement and precipitation strengthening induced using the oscillating laser. The results indicated that O-LHAM would be an effective method for manufacturing Mg alloy fast and well. Full article
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