Process control for laser-hybrid additive manufacture of metals

Improving the process control during laser-arc hybrid AM processing
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Principal investigator: Prof. Andrew Moore
Co-investigators: Stewart W. Williams and Supriyo Ganguly

This project addresses the fundamental understanding of the laser-hybrid AM process that will enable process control to be introduced for the first time. The specific objectives are to:

  • measure the process response to controlled variations in irradiation and wire feed-rate, and so develop a simplified control model for bead height and width for the laser-hybrid AM process;
  • implement feed-forward height control, in order to reduce the aggregation of build height errors between layers, in order to reduce process variation and so improve process reliability;
  • implement simultaneous height and temperature control and investigate whether control of the bead height-width ratio can be achieved;
  • assess the approaches and instrumentation required for in-process control with local shielding, for future industrial implementation.