Laser Direct Energy Deposition (DED-LB) System

• Subject Area: Materials Engineering
• Term: Funded in 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 521378699

The research focus of the Chair for New Manufacturing Technologies and Materials lies in the development of new material concepts, considering the relevant manufacturing technologies using computer-aided and experimental methods. In addition to material development for the melting and powder metallurgical processes, particular focus is attributed to the material development for additive manufacturing. The material groups considered include the group of corrosion-resistant steels, carbon-martensitic hardenable tool steels, refractory metals, functional materials, and wear-resistant composite materials. In the future, the chair will focus more on material development for the Laser-Direct Energy Deposition (DED-LB) process. In addition to developing adapted material concepts for the DED-LB process, scientific questions regarding the microstructure formation process during solidification and the alternating heat input have to be answered. The research aim is to understand the interaction between the process parameters, the microstructure formed, and the associated local material properties. In the context of technological issues, strategies for manufacturing graded or hybrid multi-material concepts or adjusting the required properties for use by subsequent heat treatment of DED-LB-processed components have to be developed. There is also a high level of interest in using the system at the Bergische Universität Wuppertal (BUW) by other specialist areas, with questions relating to product quality, the possibility of generating topology-optimized component structures and the processing of functional materials and their properties. At BUW, appropriate laboratory equipment can be used for process-adapted material development. In this context, a powder atomization system and the necessary measurement and analysis technology for the characterization and classification of powder materials and the DED-LB-processed bulk specimens should be mentioned. Thus, the DED-LB system is a useful addition to the existing laboratory equipment and would enable flexible and rapid material development. For the described range of possible research applications, a state-of-the-art system is applied, which has a blue diode laser with an output of 1.8 kW for processing Cu and Al base materials and a near-infrared Diode laser with a power of 4 kW for the more economical processing of steel. The manufacture of hybrid structures and a multi-material design should be made possible by integrating four powder feeders. The repair of tools and the manufacturing of structures on substrates with complex geometric shapes are provided in this application using a non-contact scanning system.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: Laser Direct Energy Deposition (DED-LB) System
• Instrumentation Group: 5740 Laser in der Fertigung
• Applicant Institution: Bergische Universität Wuppertal
• Leader: Professor Dr.-Ing. Arne Röttger