Thermal stresses and deposition patterns in layered manufacturing

In layered manufacturing, objects are constructed by sequential deposition of material layers. When the deposition process involves temperature gradients, thermal stresses develop. This paper examines the effect of deposition patterns on the resulting stresses and deflections in laser deposited metal parts. Finite element modeling of the deposition processes showed that the deposition pattern has a significant effect on the part stresses and deflections. Experiments performed using these same deposition patterns yielded sample deflections, which were in agreement with the finite element modeling predictions. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.