Laser Powder Bed Fusion is a novel approach to metal manufacturing which enables building parts and products with graded dissimilar materials in 3D.
At the Centre for Additive Manufacturing, our research advancements in Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) are focussed on enhancing the understanding, control, and manipulation of metallic materials, including their microstructure and properties. These innovations have been facilitated by the recent acquisition of an AconityMIDI+ system, funded through the EPSRC Strategic Equipment initiative. This advanced, custom-specification LPBF system features a versatile open multi-laser setup (2x400W, 1x1kW), offering unprecedented flexibility in processing both single and multimaterial structures, and enabling researchers to push the boundaries of LPBF research.
Other AM processes
A key component to our multimaterial LPBF research is the dual-material selective powder deposition recoater, developed by Aerosint. This state-of-the-art recoating unit allows for the precise and simultaneous deposition of two distinct powders onto the build area, significantly advancing our capabilities in this domain.
The open multi-laser configuration of our system permits independent control of each laser, enabling precise manipulation of the thermal profile during the manufacturing process. This feature is particularly crucial for processing multi-metallic parts, where the unique thermo-physical properties of different metals and their interfaces requires carefully calibrated heat inputs.
On this video, Associate Professor, Dr Marco Simonelli talks about the research he is leading on the area of metal additive manufacturing.
Faculty of Engineering The University of Nottingham Nottingham, NG7 2RD
email: CfAM@nottingham.ac.uk