Free form fabrication using the laser engineered net shaping (LENS{trademark}) process
- Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)
- Sandia National Labs., Livermore, CA (United States)
Sandia National Laboratories is developing a technology called Laser Engineered Net Shaping{trademark} (LENS{trademark}). This process allows complex 3-dimensional solid metallic objects to be directly fabricated for a CAD solid model. Experiments performed demonstrate that complex alloys such as Inconel{trademark} 625 and ANSI stainless steel alloy 316 can be used in the LENS{trademark} process to produce solid metallic-shapes. In fact, the fabricated structures exhibit grain growth across the deposition layer boundaries. Mechanical testing data of deposited 316 stainless steel material indicates that the deposited material strength and elongation are greater than that reported for annealed 316 stainless steel. Electron microprobe analysis of the deposited Inconel{trademark} 625 material shows no compositional degradation of the 625 alloy and that 100% dense structures can be obtained using this technique. High speed imaging used to acquire process data during experimentation shows that the powder particle size range can significantly affect the stability, and subsequently, the performance of the powder deposition process. Finally, dimensional studies suggest that dimensional accuracy to {+-} 0.002 inches (in the horizontal direction) can be maintained.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Financial Management and Controller, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-94AL85000
- OSTI ID:
- 425303
- Report Number(s):
- SAND-96-2690C; CONF-9606165-3; ON: DE97000975; TRN: AHC29703%%52
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 1996 world congress on powder metallurgy and particulate materials, Washington, DC (United States), 16-21 Jun 1996; Other Information: PBD: [1996]
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Laser Engineered Net Shaping (LENS(TM)): A Tool for Direct Fabrication of Metal Parts
Free form fabrication of metallic components using laser engineered net shaping (LENS{trademark})