Process combination of single point incremental forming and laser powder deposition for the manufacturing of lightweight components

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The existing approaches for the manufacturing of components either by means of forming methods or additive manufacturing technologies result in considerable disadvantages each. By an innovative combination of the two processes single point incremental forming and additive manufacturing in one machine, the advantages of both manufacturing worlds are merged for the production of lightweight components with a high integration of functions. Among the forming methods, the single point incremental forming offers the opportunity to cover a large range of components in small batch sizes without using product-specific dies. The components have a shell-like character and serve principally for covering large areas, e.g. functioning as structural components. Via additive manufacturing by laser powder deposition geometrical features can be added individually and locally, making an optimized functional adapted lightweight design of components with a high quality lightweight design possible, again without using product-specific dies. The technological basis for the development and fundamental research of the novel process combination is a new machine for the combined additive and subtractive manufacturing in a 5-axis machining center, funded by the DFG. Beginning with the development of the die technology for the integration of the forming operations into the machine, the additive deposition with the powder nozzle on the plane and curved surfaces afflicted with grooves, resulting from the single point incremental forming process, shall be investigated. The hybrid parts will be tested mechanically and investigated microstructurally with samples and test devices which have to be developed. The single point incremental forming shall be conditioned in such a way that, in terms of the manufacturing and the properties, an optimized substrate base is created, which allows the best possible bond for the additive deposit. In the field of additive manufacturing it should be examined how the powder nozzle path strategy must be adapted globally (operating distance of the powder nozzle to the substrate) or also locally (in the dimension of the groove depth). As a result, the fundamentals and the technological limits for this novel process combination and product group shall be explored and the potential, in regard to an energy and resource efficient manufacturing, shall be evaluated.