Laser engineered net shaping for direct fabrication of metal components
Sandia National Laboratories is developing a new technology to fabricate three-dimensional metallic components directly from CAD solid models. This process, called Laser Engineered Net Shaping (LENS{trademark}), exhibits enormous potential to revolutionize the way in which metal parts, such as complex prototypes, tooling, and small lot production parts, are produced. To perform the process, metal powder is injected into a molten pool created by a focused, high powered laser beam. Simultaneously, the substrate on which the deposition is occurring is scanned under the beam/powder interaction zone to fabricate the desired cross-sectional geometry. Consecutive layers are sequentially deposited, thereby producing a three-dimensional metal component.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Assistant Secretary for Management and Administration, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-94AL85000
- OSTI ID:
- 292852
- Report Number(s):
- SAND-97-2347C; CONF-970929-; ON: DE98000240; TRN: AHC2DT08%%33
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 10. national thermal spray conference in conjunction with materials week and the 17. ASM heat treating conference, Indianapolis, IN (United States), 15-19 Sep 1997; Other Information: PBD: Sep 1997
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Free form fabrication of metallic components using laser engineered net shaping (LENS{trademark})
Laser engineered net shaping (LENS) for the fabrication of metallic components