Abstract
Abstract Laser consolidation is a novel computer-aided manufacturing process being developed by the National Research Council of Canada at its London facility (NRC-London). This rapid manufacturing process produces net-shape functional metallic parts layer by layer directly from a CAD model by using a laser beam to melt the injected powder and re-solidifying it on the substrate or previous layer. As an alternative to the conventional machining process, this novel manufacturing process builds net-shape functional parts or features on an existing part by adding instead of removing material. In this chapter, NRC-London's progress on laser consolidation research is reviewed. The functional properties of laser consolidated materials (including Ni-, Ti-, Co-, Al-alloys, stainless, and tool steels) are reported, while the observation of the unique microstructure of the laser consolidated materials is discussed. The examples of the laser consolidation process for making net-shape functional components for various industrial applications (such as a space robotic arm, sonar, tooling, gas turbines, and rocket engines) are presented.
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