Directed light fabrication--a laser metal deposition process for fabrication of near-net shape components

This is the final report of a two-year, Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). Directed Light Fabrication (DLF) is a direct metal deposition process developed at LANL. A solid computer model is used to generate a tool path that moves a laser beam within the required part boundaries to deposit a planar metal layer (about .1 mm thick) which is successively stacked to build the entire part. Metal powder particles are introduced into the laser focal zone where they melt and then solidify to produce a fully dense deposited layer. In a single processing step, metal components are formed eliminating the series of processing steps required by conventional processing such as forging, stamping, casting, etc. The accomplishments of this project have been as follows; (1) advancement of the technology from 3 axes of motion to 5 axes of motion producing true three-dimensional components and assemblies; (2) development of a workable machine for accurate powder delivery, powder recycle, and gas recycle; and (3) demonstrated feasibility for processing almost any metal and intermetallic compound