Amrita School of Engineering, Chennai

Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham

ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING (19MEE435)

Classes:
Monday Tuesday Wednesday
(11:10– 12:00 am) (8:25– 9:15 am) (9:15-10:05 AM)
 Course Objective
• To provide comprehensive knowledge of the wide range of additive
manufacturing processes, capabilities and materials.
• To make the students understand the various software tools and techniques that
enable advanced/additive manufacturing and personal fabrication.
• To make the students learn to create physical objects that satisfies product
development/prototyping requirements, using /additive manufacturing
processes.
Evaluation Pattern
 UNIT 1:
Introduction: Methods And Systems
 Additive Manufacturing
• Additive Manufacturing (AM) refers to a process by
which digital 3D design data is used to build up a
component in layers by depositing material.
• It helps to fabricate innovative products with minimum
waste.
• It is a digital process that uses computer-aided design to
manufacture the same, adding raw materials.
• It is a method of adding layers of material one over the
other.
• This technology is trending now in almost all industries,
from medical to aerospace applications.
History of 3D Printing
1980 1984 1986 1987 1988

Rapid Printing Physical Stereolitho- First SLA- First SLS

Prototyping- 3D objects- graphy Patent - 1 machine Patent- Carl
Dr Kodama Charles Hull Charles Hull Deckard

1992 1997 2000 2004 2007 2009

FDM Arcam was SLM RepRap First First

Patent- established Technology Concept- system commercial
Stratasys was Dr Bowyer under 3D Printer
introduced $10000
SUBTRACTIVE MANUFACTURING ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING

• Milling Joining material by layer

• Drilling by layer process
• Turning • FDM
• CNC • SLA
The Generic AM Process
Additive Manufacturing
 3D Printing in Engineering, Math and Science
Develop and design technology-enriched learning experiences.
 World's biggest 3D printed building opens in Dubai
3D Printed Heart with Patient’s Own Cells Drug Printing Robirds
India's first ever 3D printed house- IIT Madras
 3D PRINTING DURING COVID PANDEMIC
3D swab Face Shield Splitter

Face Masks Respiratory Valves Medical Goggles

Classifications of Additive
Manufacturing Processes
 Classification of AM

✓ Liquid Polymer systems

✓ Discrete Particle systems
✓ Molten Material Systems
✓ Solid Sheet Systems
LIQUID POLYMER SYSTEMS
Liquid Polymer systems
➢ Liquid-based RP systems have the initial form of their material in a liquid state.
➢ The liquid is converted into the solid state.
➢ The first commercial system was the 3D Systems Stereolithography process, based
on liquid photopolymers.
➢ A large portion of systems in use today are, in fact, not just liquid polymer systems
but more specifically liquid photopolymer systems.
 STEREO LITHOGRAPHY
(SLA)
• 3D systems was founded in 1986 by inventor Charles W Hull and Entrepreneur Raymond S. Freed and its
first commercial system marketed in 1988.
• It has been awarded more than 40 United states patents and 20 International patents.
 Principle

• Parts are built from a photo-curable liquid resin that cures when exposed to a UV light (photopolymerization
process), which scans across the surface of the resin.
• The building is done layer by layer, each layer being scanned by an optical scanning system and controlled
by an elevation mechanism which lowers at completion of each layer.
 Process
➢ Stereolithography process creates 3D plastic objects directly from CAD data.
➢ The process begins with vat filled with the photo-curable liquid resin and the elevator table set just below
the surface of the liquid resin.
➢ 3D CAD solid model file is loaded into the system by the operator.
➢ Supports are designed to stabilise the part during building.
➢ The translator converts the CAD data into an STL file.
➢ The control unit slices the model and support into a series of cross-sections from 0.025 to 0.5 mm thick.
➢ The optical scanning system directs and focuses the laser beam to solidify a 2D cross section corresponding
to the slice on the surface of the photo-curable liquid resin.
➢ The elevator table drops enough to cover the solid polymer with another layer of liquid resin.
➢ A levelling wiper or vacuum blade moves across the surfaces to recoat the next layer of resin on the surface.
➢ The laser then draws the next layer.
➢ The process continues building the part from bottom up, until the system completes the part.
➢ The part is then raised out of the vat and cleaned of excess polymer.
 Features
➢ Stereolithography is the first Rapid prototyping (RP) technique is still most wodely used.
➢ Economical than other techniques.
➢ Uses light–sensitive liquid polymer.
➢ Requires post-curing since the laser is not sufficient.
➢ Parts are brittle.
➢ Support structures are required
➢ Uncured material can be toxic.
Process parameters
➢ The starting materials are liquid monomers.
➢ Each layer is 20-150 micrometres thick. (Thinner layers provide better resolution and more intricate shapes,
but processing time is longer).
➢ Laser scan speed is typically 500 to 2500 mm/s.
 Materials
➢ Photo-curable resins include:
a) Acrylates (High reactivity but inaccuracy due to post-layer formation shrinkage)
b) Epoxies (Slow reaction; are brittle, however, very sensitive to humidity)

➢ Resins today commonly available are epoxides with some acrylate content. Eg, Polyester acrylate (PEA),
epoxy acrylates (EA) etc.

**Curing is the process of linking liquid monomers to polymers by solidification.

Post processing requirements

➢ Careful practices are required to work with the resins.
➢ Support structures must be removed.
➢ Alcohol baths and UV ovens are required to clean and cure the parts further.
 Pros Cons
➢ Probably the most accurate functional prototyping
➢ Requires post-curing.
in the market.
➢ Long term curing can lead to warping.
➢ Layer thickness: from 20-150 micrometers
➢ Parts are brittle.
➢ Smooth surface finish, high dimensional tolerance
➢ Support structures are needed.
and finely detailed features (thin walls, sharp
➢ Uncured material is toxic
corners etc.), less wastage of materials.
➢ Constraint in material choice
➢ Large build volume : upto 50 cm x 50 cm x 60 cm
➢ Slow process.
➢ Resins can be custom-engineered to meet different
needs: high temperature, speed, finish etc.
Molten Material Systems
Molten Material Systems
➢ Molten material systems are characterized by a pre-heating chamber that raises the
material temperature to melting point so that it can flow through a delivery system.
➢ The most well-known method for doing this is the Fused Deposition Modeling system
developed by the US company Stratasys
➢ This approach uses an extrusion technique to deliver the material through a nozzle in a
controlled manner.
➢ Two extrusion heads are often used so that support structures can be fabricated from a
different material to facilitate part cleanup and removal.
 FUSED DEPOSITION MODELLING
(FDM)
• FDM (Fused Deposit Modeling) deals with raw material extrusion method used to manufacture 3D model.
• In this a print head able to move along X and Y directions performs the task to lay out material according to
the 3D model.
• The material transfers from print head to print bed and due to environmental temperature it changes its state
from Semi Solid to solid phase. This gets added up in every layer by layer, transforming it into a 3D model.
Raw material- Plastic (in form of Filament)

It is transferred into print head

Print head has heating coils

Phase change from solid to semi-solid

plastic takes place

The semi solid raw material is then

transferred to print bed

This transfer happens with help of movable

print head which moves along X and Y
Direction

Raw material when laid on print bed gets

fused into solid state layer by layer
 Process parameters in FDM

➢ Process parameters:
• Layer thickness
• Angle
• Raster width
• Fill style
• Air gap
• Operating Temperature
Infill pattern
Discrete Particle systems
Discrete Particle systems
➢ Discrete particles are normally powders that are generally graded into a relatively
uniform size and shape and a narrow distribution.
➢ The finer the particles, the better, but there will be problems if the dimensions get too
small in terms of controlling the distribution and dispersion.
➢ Polymer powders must exhibit thermoplastic behaviour so that they can be melted
and re-melted to permit bonding of one layer to another.
➢ The two main polymer-based systems commercially available are:
a) the Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) technology marketed by 3D Systems
b) the EOSint processes developed by the German company EOS.
 SELECTIVE LASER SINTERING (SLS)
• One technology for incremental
manufacturing of models and prototypes
is selective laser sintering, based on
joining consecutive layers of powder
using a laser beam.
• The advantage of this method is the
capability of obtaining a model of any
shape without the necessity of bringing
the material to a liquid state.
• The entire laser sintering process takes
place in the working chamber of a
machine equipped with a computer that
controls the production process.
 PROCESS
• This process is performed using infrared laser radiation from a CO2 or Nd:YAG laser.
• Selective laser sintering is based on spreading a thin layer of powder on a table whose position on the Z axis can be
adjusted. This layer serves as a substrate for the object that is being created.
• The laser beam travels over the surface of the powder according to pre-input and properly configured information
concerning consecutive layers in the cross-section of the object's spatial image.
• Selection of the appropriate laser beam parameters allows for the melting or sintering of powder particles in strictly
defined areas. Next, the structure of the platform, along with the table, is lowered by a set height (usually equal to the
thickness of one layer; 30-100µm) relative to its previous position, and another thin layer of powder is spread.
• Excess powder is diverted into a collection box found outside of the platform on which objects are constructed, after
which the blade for removal of excess material returns to its initial position.
• The laser scans the cross-section once again. This process is repeated until a cohesive object is obtained according to the
data contained in the generated digital file.
 MECHANISMS OF THE SINTERING PROCESS
• Two types of laser sintering can be distinguished within the framework of the SLS Rapid Prototyping
method: indirect and direct .
• Indirect selective laser sintering (ISLS) utilizes metallic powder coated with a polymer 5µm in thickness.
The laser beam sinters the polymer layer, and metallic powder grains remain unchanged.
• An object obtained using this method is characterized by low strength properties and high porosity (even
above 50%), which is why it is necessary to subject it to further thermal treatment.
• Thermal treatment is divided into two stages: polymer removal and infiltration. High temperature causes
evaporation of the polymer. A further increase in temperature leads to the formation of necks between
metal particles (sintering).
• The next step is infiltration, which is based on filling pores remaining after polymer evaporation with
metal of a low melting point or on further sintering until full density is achieved. In addition, if pores are
filled with a different metal, infiltration allows for the production of composites with desired properties.
• In the case of direct laser sintering (DSLS), a high-power laser beam acting on a metallic powder
substrate leads to its direct sintering.
• An advantage of this type of selective laser sintering is that it eliminates costly and time-consuming
thermal treatment. DSLS technology makes it possible to apply a mixture of different powders with
different properties.
• This enables sintering of specialized materials with good and unique properties: cermets or alloys
based on cobalt, nickel, and titanium.
• These materials have strictly defined applications, which is linked to the high temperatures employed
during the process, stresses, and rigorous conditions having an influence on oxidation or corrosion [
 SELECTIVE LASER MELTING
(SLM)
• Selective laser melting (SLM), also called direct metal laser melting (DMLM), is a type of metal additive
manufacturing or 3D printing.
• SLM is one of the powder bed fusion processes, which are the most widely used in the AM industry. As the name
suggests, SLM uses a laser beam that melts and fuses the metal powders together.
• The range of metal alloys available is fairly extensive. The end result has properties equivalent to those
manufactured via traditional manufacturing processes.
• Early applications of SLM only included cast iron, titanium, and nickel. These were used mainly due to their
abundance in nature, opportunities for widespread applications, and cost. Later, SLM research progressed, and other
metals were included such as aluminium, copper, cobalt, tungsten, and their alloys and composites
 PROCESS PARAMETERS
LASER OR ELECTRON BEAM POWER:

• Governs the rate of energy available for melting the material.

• The combined parameter governing the quality of the built part is the volumetric energy density (Ed)
which is the ratio of laser or beam power to the product of hatch spacing, scan speed and layer
thickness.
• If Ed is less than the specified range – discontinuous tracks are formed (lack of fusion due to
insufficient amount of energy available for consolidation of a given volume of material)
• If Ed is more than the specified range –excessive remelting of pre-deposited layers (larger thermal
gradients and higher residual stresses resulting in cracking and porosity due to vaporization).
• A very low or high value of Ed results in porosity in the build parts.
• Laser or electron beam power is directly proportional to the Ed.
SCAN SPEED:

• The speed at which the laser or electron beam scans the powder surface.
• The scan speed directly influences the interaction time between the powder and energy sources.
• If scan speed is high the interaction time between the powder and energy source reduces and vice
versa.
• If scan speed increases, Ed decreases, reducing the amount of energy available to melt the given
volume of the material.

LAYER THICKNESS

• Layer thickness is the thickness of the powder spread by the powder spreading unit on the built plate/
previously built layer surface.
• Layer thickness governs the minimum feature size in the build direction (z-direction).
• The selection of layer thickness is primarily dependent on the powder size and it should be greater
than the maximum powder particle size.
• Layer thickness is inversely proportional to Ed (keeping other parameters constant).
• If layer thickness is high more amount of energy is required for complete melting and consolidation
of the material.
HATCH SPACING or LINE OFFSET:

• It is the distance between the two consecutive single tracks (line deposit obtained by moving the
laser or electron beam linearly).
• If hatch spacing is high the overlap between the two melt pools gets reduced.
• This leads to the lack of fusion porosity between adjacent tracks and an increase in the unmelted
powders between adjacent tracks.

BEAM SPOT SIZE

• It is the diameter of the laser beam/electron beam on the surface of the powder layer.
• A larger value of beam spot size increases the minimum feature size achievable from the PBF system
and it also reduces the energy intensity available at a point.
• In Electron –PBF the spot size is varied by changing the focus offset current.
• In Laser – PBF the spot diameter is adjusted by changing the position of the focusing optics to vary
the spot diameter.
 ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES

• It provides new opportunities for • Capability to build multi-material

fabricating metallic components with components is limited. (Flexibility is
unlimited complexity. less than DED)
• Powder layer beneath the surface of the • Selective melting and solidification lead
part acts as a support structures to build to porosity generation at localized
overhangs or complex-shaped positions due to the scanning rate.
engineered components. • Low build rate
• The strength of the PBF components is • Build volume is limited by the size of
higher that the other metal AM the machine and parts can only be
processes. fabricated within the dimension of the
• The dimensional accuracy and surface build chamber.
roughness is better for PBF compared to
other commercial metal AM techniques.
Calculate the volumetric energy density in powder bed fusion, if laser power is 300 W, scan speed is 0.05
m/s, layer thickness is 100 µm and hatch spacing is 0.25 mm.
ELECTRON BEAM MELTING
➢ Electron beam melting (EBM) is a 3D printing technology that,
at first glance, appears very similar to SLS 3D printing.
However, closer inspection reveals that EBM differs in several
ways.
➢ The most significant differences are that the energy source
comes from an electron beam instead of a CO2 laser and that
the material used is conductive metal instead of thermoplastic
polymer.
➢ In particular, EBM often uses titanium alloys and isn’t
capable of printing plastic or ceramic parts. That’s because
the technology is based on electrical charges. They produce the
reaction between powder and electron beam, causing the
former to solidify.
 Process
➢ The part is first designed in a 3D CAD program.
➢ The file is transferred to preprocessing software where the model is sliced into
thin layers.
➢ The parts are built up layer-by-layer by the Electron Beam Melting (EBM)
process in a vacuum chamber.
➢ On completion of the CAD to Metal Process the net-shape part is cleaned and
can be finished as necessary by conventional methods.
➢ The electron beam is generated in an Electron Beam Gun situated on the top of
a vacuum chamber. The Electron Beam Gun is fixed and the beam is deflected
to reach the entire building area.
➢ The electrons are emitted from a filament, which is heated to high temperature.
➢ The electrons are then accelerated to half the speed of light in an electric field.
➢ The beam of electrons is controlled with two magnetic fields.
➢ The first acts as a magnetic lens and is responsible for focusing the beam to the
desired diameter.
➢ The second magnetic field deflects the focused beam to the desired point on
the building table.
 Advantages
➢ Ability to achieve a high energy level in a narrow beam.
➢ Vacuum melt quality can yield high strength properties of the material.
➢ Vacuum environment eliminates impurities such as oxides and nitrides.
➢ Permits printing in refractory metals and combinations of dissimilar metals.

Compared with laser sintering/melting additional benefits include:

➢ Higher efficiency in generating the beam of energy resulting in lower power consumption as well as lower
maintenance and installation costs
➢ Deflection of the beam can achieved without moving parts resulting in high scanning speed and low
maintenance.

Disadvantages
➢ Requires vacuum which adds another system on the machine which cost money and must be maintained
➢ Electron beam technology produces X-rays while in operation.
 BINDER JETTING
• There are also processes that use a powder bed which do not require a laser
(or other highly-directed heat source).
• These processes typically use an inkjet head similar to what you would find
in a desktop photo printer.
• Instead of heating the powder to fuse it, they deposit glue or other binding
agents onto the powder.
• In Binder Jetting, a binder is selectively deposited onto the powder bed,
bonding these areas together to form a solid part one layer at a time. The
materials commonly used in Binder Jetting are metals, sand, and ceramics
that come in a granular form.
• Binder jetting can also be done with metal, but that requires a second step in
which the loosely bound particles are infused with a lower-temperature
metal. Some machines even sinter nylon powder by using inkjet heads to
deposit sensitizing and/or inhibiting agents to the powder before heating it
with a more diffuse heat source.
 BINDER JETTING

• Binder-jetting machines typically use gypsum powder, and

can deposit ink along with the binding agent to create full-
color prints.
• These printers deposit tiny droplets of UV-sensitive resin and
then quickly expose it to UV light to solidify it.
• The typical layer height depends on the material: for full
color models the typical layer height is 100 microns, for
metal parts 50 microns and for sand casting mold materials
200-400 microns.
 HOW DOES BINDER JETTING WORKS?
I. First, a recoating blade spreads a thin layer of powder over the
build platform.

II. Then, a carriage with inkjet nozzles (which are similar to the
nozzles used in desktop 2D printers) passes over the bed,
selectively depositing droplets of a binding agent (glue) that bond
the powder particles together. In full-color Binder Jetting, the
colored ink is also deposited during this step. The size of each drop
is approximately 80 μm in diameter, so good resolution can be
achieved.

III. When the layer is complete, the build platform moves

downwards and the blade re-coats the surface. The process then
repeats until the whole part is complete.

IV. After printing, the part is encapsulated in the powder and is left
to cure and gain strength. Then the part is removed from the
powder bin and the unbound, excess powder is cleaned via
pressurized air.
➢ A key advantage of Binder Jetting over other 3D printing processes is that bonding occurs at room
temperature. This means that dimensional distortions connected to thermal effects (such as warping
in FDM, SLS, DMSL/SLM or curling in SLA/DLP) are not a problem in Binder Jetting.
➢ The build volume of Binder Jetting machines are amongst the largest compared to all 3D printing technologies
(up to 2200 x 1200 x 600 mm). These large machines are generally used to produce sand casting molds. Metal
Binder Jetting systems typically have larger build volumes than DMSL/SLM systems (up to 800 x 500 x 400
mm), which allows the parallel manufacturing of multiple parts at a time.
➢ Moreover, Binder Jetting requires no support structures: the surrounding powder provides to the part all the
necessary support (similar to SLS). This is a key difference between metal Binder Jetting and other metal 3D
printing processes, which usually require extensive use of support structures, and allows for the creation of
freeform metal structures with very few geometric restrictions.
➢ Geometric inaccuracies in metal Binder Jetting come mainly from the post-processing steps.
 BENEFITS AND LIMITATIONS
Benefits & Limitations of Binder Jetting

The key advantages and disadvantages of the technology are summarised below:
▪ Binder Jetting produces metal parts and full-colour prototypes at a fraction of the cost compared to DMLS/SLM
and Material Jetting, respectively.
▪ Binder Jetting can manufacture very large parts and complex metal geometries, as it is not limited by any thermal
effects (e.g. warping).
▪ The manufacturing capabilities of Binder Jetting are excellent for low to medium batch production.

❖ Metal Binder Jetting parts have lower mechanical properties than DMSL/SLM parts, due to their higher porosity.
❖ Only rough details can be printed with Binder Jetting, as the parts are very brittle in their green state and may
fracture during post-processing.
❖ Compared to other 3D printing processes, Binder Jetting offers a limited material selection.
 Applications of PBF
Automotive applications of powder bed fusion
The applications of powder bed fusion in the automotive industry are many, from prototyping to
lightweighting of components. Listed below are some examples of where the technology is used in the
automotive industry. Eg. Tyre molds, Seat belt bracket, Brake caliper.

The medical industry is a major adopter of 3D printing technology – especially powder bed fusion.
This is in part due to the wide range of biocompatible materials that are well-suited to these printers as
well as the fact that the process can produce a variety of complex geometries. (Knee replacement, Hip
joint, Jaw reconstruction)

Aerospace applications
The aerospace industry, one of the early adopters of powder bed fusion for metal parts, operates at the
very edge of material science and engineering technology in order to push the limits of what’s
possible. (Rocket engine combustion chamber , Injector head )
 LASER ENGINEERED NET SHAPING (LENS)
Additive manufacturing method in which the product is built up layer by layer by continuously feeding metal
powder or metal wire melted into a laser beam.

The process
➢ A laser beam created by a laser generator is focused through a lens onto the workpiece. Metal powder, or
metal wire, is introduced at the focus of the laser beam, where the metal powder and workpiece melt and
thus build on the surface.
➢ An inert gas is supplied to protect both the laser and the melt from contamination during the welding
process.
➢ The cross-section of the detail is thus built up step by step until the complete detail is created.
➢ The method can also be used to repair damaged or worn surfaces and is then often described as laser
welding with powder.
➢ Laser engineered net shaping (LENS) uses computer-
controlled lasers that, in hours, weld air-blown streams
of metallic powders into custom parts and manufacturing
molds.
➢ Nozzles, each directs a stream of metal powder at a central
point beneath them. Simultaneously, that point is heated by
a high-powered laser beam.
➢ The laser and jets remain stationary while the model and its
substrate are moved to provide new targets on which to
deposit metal continually, as shown in Fig. First, this is
done on a substrate, and then on the built-up layers, until
the desired cross-sectional geometry is completed with
production of a 3D metal product.
➢ This is a complicated operation because high temperatures
make it difficult to form accurate, smooth objects from
molten metals.
➢ The technology can be used with a wide variety of metals
including titanium, steel, copper, and aluminium.
➢ Unlike in SLM, which has a powder bed, the component is
manufactured using the LENS technique by supplying a
powder through nozzle injection and irradiating a laser beam
with high energy density to melt and deposit over a build
base-plate in a layer-by-layer scheme. After deposition of
each layer the build platform moves down in a controlled
manner. This process repeats until an expected component is
realized.
➢ Although the LENS technique was basically developed to
produce complex geometrical components, it also has an
ideal for repair and refurbishment of damaged components
and structures.
➢ It should be noted that, the LENS has few concerns such as
need for postprocessing, poor component surface finish, and
distortion in the components due to residual stresses.
ADVANTAGES OF LENS
1. Superior Material Properties: The LENS process is capable of producing fully dense metal parts. Metal parts
produced includes embedded structures.

2. Complex parts: Functional metal parts with complex features are the forte of LENS system.

DISADVANTAGES OF LENS
1. Limited materials: The process is narrowly focused to metal parts only.

2. Large physical Unit size

3. High power consumption.

 Direct Energy Deposition (DED)
➢ DED is defined as an additive manufacturing process in which focused thermal energy is used to fuse materials by
melting as they are being deposited.
➢ The DED process can be powder-fed deposition or wire-fed deposition and it includes methods where feedstock is
deposited onto a melt pool generated by a focused beam of energy: laser, electron beam or arc.

Wire-fed based DED

➢ It uses either a laser, arc or electron beam as an energy source.
➢ In this the material is fed in the form of wire and melted by the energy delivered by the source.
➢ The molten metal forms the metallurgical bond with the substrate.
➢ The relative motion between the substrate and the energy source/wire feeder gives the trajectory of the material
deposition and forms the first layer. Once this layer is completed like in other AM processes, layers are built one
over the other to form the 3D component.
➢ The major advantage of wire over powder-fed DED is the 100% material utilisation, reduced hazards due to the
absence of powders, low cost of wires and easy availability of wire material.
➢ Typically there are two configurations: Lateral and coaxial
➢ Lateral configuration is used with lasers, electrons and
GTAW: Process mechanism-melting and deposition of
laterally fed metallic wire using thermal energy source.
➢ Coaxial is used with lasers, plasma and GMAW.
➢ GTAW and GMAW being extensions of welding
technology use simple welding principles to deposit the
material.
➢ The welding wire as the positive electrode is fed to the
welding torch tip. An arc between the substrate material
and the welding wire tip results in the melting of the
welding wire tip and substrate, leading to the formation of
metal droplets. The generated metal droplets are dropped
on the melt pool created on the substrate surface. With the
movement of the welding torch as per the required
trajectory, the molten metal accumulated solidified and
deposited.
PROCESS PARAMETERS
A) VOLTAGE: It plays a significant role in arc-based DED techniques to control the beam power. Beam power is the
product of voltage and current and it controls the amount of energy available for melting and solidification.
High voltage: excessive meting, high melt pool temperature, cracking and higher residual stresses.
Lower voltage: Discontinuous depositions
Range: 16-24 V
B) MATERIAL FEED/FLOW RATE: It refers to the rate of flow of the feedstock (wire or powder).
For a particular laser power density (laser power/beam diameter) and interaction time, an increased feed rate increases the
deposition rate.
Energy per unit length (EL)= P/V (Available energy)
Material fed per unit traverse length (MFL)=mp/V (Material available for deposition)
High EL and low MFL: Vaporization of the feed material due to excessive amount of energy available per unit feed material.
Low EL and High MFL: fusion will not occur
Hence optimum range of parameters are required.
PROCESS PARAMETERS
C) STAND-OFF DISTANCE (SOD): It is the distance between the nozzle tip and the substrate surface. Normally a
diverging beam is used for deposition, as the increase in SOD will provide a larger beam spot and more area will be exposed
for melting.
D) GAS FLOW RATE: It has two main functions: delivery of powder as a carrier gas and oxidation protection of the
molten material as shielding gas.
If the gas flow rate is less than the optimum value –the reproducibility of powder flow will be a problem; failure to protect
the molten pool from oxidation.
Higher range can lead to the slashing of powder particles at the impingement point.
ADVANTAGES
• High deposition rate
• Dense and strong parts
• Multi-material range
• Built size
• Reduced material wastage

LIMITATIONS
• Low dimensional accuracy
• Limited shape design freedom
• Thermal distortion
Solid Sheet Systems
Solid Sheet Systems
➢ One of the earliest AM technologies was the Laminated Object Manufacturing (LOM)
system from Helisys, USA.
➢ This technology used a laser to cut out profiles from sheet paper, supplied from a
continuous roll, which formed the layers of the final part.
➢ Layers were bonded together using a heat-activated resin that was coated on one
surface of the paper.
➢ Once all the layers were bonded together the result was very like a wooden block.
➢ A hatch pattern cut into the excess material allowed the user to separate away waste
material and reveal the part.
 Laminated Object Manufacturing (LOM)
Additive manufacturing method where the cross section of
the detail is cut into a thin material which is then
successively glued to the previous layer.

The process
Details are created on a building platform [1], which is supplied
with thin construction material from a feed roller [2]. The
materials usually used are paper, plastic or metal foil. After each
layer, the building platform is lowered and it is fed with new
layer of material. The building material is usually provided with
heat-activated glue and a heated lamination roller [3] is passed
over the building platform to join each new layer.
A laser cutter [4] cuts a cross section of the model as well as a
grid pattern in the excess material to make it easier to remove as
a post process.
Some machines have an integrated color printer which allows
printing of full-color models.
➢ LOM technology uses adhesive-coated paper, plastic, or metal laminates as a 3D printing medium.
➢ These sheets of material are glued together layer-by-layer and cut into shape using a knife or with laser
cutting.
➢ Objects created using LOM can then be further modified post-process by machining or drilling.
➢ Laminated object manufacturing is a versatile process, which is most usually performed using paper as
the material. While plastic and metallic sheets can also be used, these are both more complex to cut.
➢ As an additive manufacturing process, LOM is fast and inexpensive, and is typically used for rapid
prototyping rather than production.
➢ The precision of the finished object depends upon the thickness of the material layers being used,
although it is typically not as precise as other methods.
Advantages Disadvantages
➢ LOM offers several advantages for industry for the quick and ➢ Firstly, because LOM is a subtractive process,
inexpensive production of prototypes and other products. producing complex geometric shapes is not as easy as
Companies can use a computer-generated model of a product other 3D printing processes. This is because it is not
to quickly and efficiently build a prototype from inexpensive always possible to access the internal parts of the object
build materials like paper, making LOM preferable for rapid or to remove excess material from within an object.
prototyping than other manufacturing processes, including 3D ➢ The nature of LOM makes internal structures and
printers. undercuts difficult and can create challenges with
➢ The LOM process can be used to create both solid and hollow breaking parts out from the laminate.
objects, including large parts, faster and for less cost than with ➢ LOM offers reduced dimensional accuracy when
standard additive manufacturing. Relatively large parts can be compared to stereolithography and selective laser
created easily as there is no chemical reaction in the build sintering.
process, while there is also no need for support material as the ➢ Depending on the material used, LOM parts can also
laminated material supports itself while curing before the final have a poor surface finish and more delicate paper parts
object is cut out. may have low strength. Paper LOM parts can also
➢ Models created with paper have wood-like characteristics, readily absorb moisture unless treated.
meaning that they can be worked and finished in a similar
way.
Applications
➢ Despite the challenges and disadvantages of LOM, the process remains an excellent option for
conceptual prototyping due to the speed and low cost of the process.
➢ Scale models can also be created using laminated object manufacturing, while the use of colour inks and
paper also allows for the creation of inexpensive yet eye-catching 3D promotional items.