Laser generating metallic components

Recent developments in rapid prototyping have led to the concept of laser generating, the first additive manufacturing technology. This paper presents an innovative process of depositing multi-layer tracks, by fusing successive powder tracks, to generate three dimensional components, thereby offering an alternative to casting for small metal component manufacture. A coaxial nozzle assembly has been designed and manufactured enabling consistent omni-directional multi-layer deposition. In conjunction with this the software route from a CAD drawing to machine code generation has been established. The part is manufactured on a six axes machining centre incorporating a 1.8 kW CO2 laser, providing an integrated opto-mechanical workstation. The part build-up program is controlled by a P150 host computer, linked directly to the DNC machining centre. The direct manufacturing route is shown, including initial examples of simple objects (primitives - cube, cylinder, cone) leading to more complex turbine blade generation, incorporating build-up techniques and the associated mechanical properties.