Study on an actuator with giant magnetostrictive materials for driving galvanometer in selective laser sintering precisely

Abstract

As a non-traditional machining in advanced manufacturing technology, selective laser sintering technology can quickly realise manufacturing of the workpiece which shape is very complicated without mechanical processing equipment. However, this technology has gradually shown some problems such as moulding parts with higher surface roughness and lower accuracy which limit its application in the field of precise machining. To solve these problems, in this paper, it makes full use of the excellent performance of giant magnetostrictive materials and proposes that using giant magnetostrictive actuator in driving galvanometer for selective laser sintering. Based on the analysis of magnetostrictive effect mechanism of giant magnetostrictive materials, according to the operating features of galvanometer, a giant magnetostrictive actuator used to drive galvanometer precisely is designed. Its working theory model which can describe the relationship between elongation and working current is established. In addition, working performances of the giant magnetostrictive actuator are studied through a series of experiment. The experiment results show that linear range of the actuator is 4.26 KA/m14.2 KA/m approximately and the first resonance frequency is about 380 HZ. The research results may provide a new method to realise high precision scanning of laser spot and open up a new application field for giant magnetostrictive materials.