Contact person: Arne Lüddecke
The additive manufacturing of metals is used especially in the automotive, aircraft and medical industries. Advantages of additive processes are a possible functional integration and realization of complex structures without geometric restrictions (especially in lightweight and prototype construction). Challenges are mainly seen in the low productivity and the high costs of the process. To increase the productivity and relating thereto the speed of PBF-LB/M processes the state of the art is the use of multiple energy-intensive lasers and bigger build envelopes to increase productivity, which leads consequently to higher complexities of PBF-LB/M machines and machine prices. Therefore, the project aims at improving the efficiency of the PBF-LB/M process by modifying metal powders.
The Project is part of the DFG priority program SPP 1211 MATframe (Materials for additive manufacturing). The main objectives are the further development and modification of conventionally available metal powders with the focus on increasing the absorption of laser light, the flow properties in the deposition process and the thermal conductivity of the powder. This will be achieved by coating nanoparticles on the metal particles surface. The coating process will be executed via fluidized systems and high shear mixing and tailored particles are then manufactured and tested in PBF-LB/M process in close cooperation with the Hybrid Additive Manufacturing at the Ruhr-University Bochum.