Layered Extrusion of Metal Alloys (LEMA)

增材制造技术被视为传统制造工艺的可行替代方案，能够以低材料浪费创造几何高效的结构。商用激光和电子束金属增材制造系统越来越多地用于高价值的航空航天和医疗行业，以直接制造金属最终用途部件。为了制造具有全密度的组件，这些过程必须完全熔化原料材料，这随后在成形组件内产生较大的热应力。此外，这些高功率激光/电子系统中使用的硬件本身就很昂贵，而且能源效率低下。这就产生了技术挑战和经济障碍，从而限制了新的市场和行业接受这种极具前景和颠覆性的制造技术。本课题将开发一种新型的低热应力诱导、低成本的金属增材制造工艺——工程金属合金的层状挤压（LEMA）。一种特殊制造的金属原料将使用一种设计用于创建分层3D结构的开发系统进行挤压。与传统的基于激光/电子的增材制造系统相比，独特的原料化学和精心的过程控制相结合，可以有效地沉积材料，减少热梯度。

Additive Manufacturing technologies are viewed as viable alternatives to conventional manufacturing processes, capable of creating geometrically efficient structures with low material waste. Commercial laser and electron beam metallic Additive Manufacturing systems are increasingly being used in high value aerospace and medical industries to directly manufacture metallic end-use parts. To manufacture components with full densities, these processes must completely melt the feedstock material, this subsequently generates large thermal stresses within formed components. Further to this, the hardware used within these high power laser/electron systems are inherently expensive and energy inefficient. This creates technical challenges and economic barriers that subsequently restrict new markets and industries from embracing this highly promising and disruptive manufacturing technology.This proposal will develop a novel low thermal stress inducing, low cost metallic Additive Manufacturing process, Layered Extrusion of engineering Metal Alloys (LEMA). A specially created metallic feedstock will be extruded using a developed system designed to create layered 3D structures. A combination of unique feedstock chemistry and careful process control will allow efficient deposition of materials with a reduction in thermal gradients compared to conventional laser/electron based Additive Manufacturing systems.