Additively Manufactured INCONEL(®) Alloy 718

Abstract

Significant contributions have been made in recent years to the development of Additive Manufacturing (AM) technology. Improvements in laser and electron beam-based AM equipment using powder injection, powder bed or wire feed systems have benefited from advances in software programs to convert complex CAD models into Digitally Manufactured parts. Wider acceptance of AM technology in, for example the aerospace industry, is driven by meeting stringent quality, schedule and cost requirements. These factors, in addition to the specific property requirements and level of part-family complexity, strongly influence the selection of the appropriate Additive Manufacturing process. This presentation will briefly review some of the factors and criteria that must be addressed to transition an “AM opportunity” into a viable business case. Introduction Additive Manufacturing (AM) may be defined as: a collective term for manufacturing technologies, which in an automated process produce 3-D objects, as a whole or in part, directly from 3-D CAD data, by the successive addition of materials without the use of specialized tooling. AM is a relatively new technology with a history spanning ~40 years. This is insignificant compared to “Subtractive” and “Formative” shaping. However, significant contributions have been made in recent years to the development of AM technology and the state-of-the-art is rapidly changing. Improvements in laser and electron beam-based AM equipment using powder injection, powder bed or wire feed systems have benefited from advances in software programs to convert complex CAD models into Digitally Manufactured, i. e., “e-manufactured” parts. Wider acceptance of AM technology use in, for example the aerospace industry, is driven by meeting stringent quality, schedule and cost requirements. These “business case” factors, in addition to the specific property requirements and level of part-family complexity, strongly influence the selection of the appropriate Additive Manufacturing process. Some AM processes are conducive to small, complex geometry, Free-FormFabrication (FFF) parts, having tight-tolerance Net-Shapes. Others, programmed via robotics/multi-axis machines, can span the part size range up to FFF larger parts or feature-additions. The surface finish on products from several AM processes is still Near-Net-Shape. An important goal is the minimization of any post-processing, such as machining or surface finishing, to achieve Net-Shape capability within the surface finish tolerances of the part design.