Metal Additive Manufacturing - 515.655

Additive Manufacturing (AM), also known colloquially as 3D Printing, is a disruptive technology that has received significant attention in recent years in both the popular press and the manufacturing industry. While the current and potential future applications for this technology, especially for mission-critical metal parts, are impressive and imaginative, the full potential for metal AM has not been realized due to current limitations and a lack of full understanding of metal AM processes. In this class we will cover (1) the current state-of-the-art of AM; (2) the production steps necessary to manufacture AM parts; and (3) the closely linked topics of AM materials and AM processes. While non-metal AM materials such as polymers, composites, and ceramics will be included, the primary focus will be on metal materials fabricated with laser powder bed fusion processes. Specific topics covered will include conventional vs. AM materials, meltpool phenomena including solidification, kinetics and solid-state kinetics, post-process thermal treatments, the process-properties relationship, in-situ process sensing, indirect process measurement methods and process modeling. Recent implementations of metal additive manufacturing, such as those in the aerospace and health care industries, will be presented extensively throughout the class as study cases. Popular press articles and technical papers on AM will be reviewed and discussed. Students taking this class will be expected to participate actively and bring to the class real or potential applications of AM in their workplaces.