Jose Exequiel Ruiz

Combination of Laser Material Deposition and Laser Surface Processes for the Holistic Manufacture of Inconel 718 Components

The present work proposes a novel manufacturing technique based on the combination of Laser Metal Deposition, Laser Beam Machining, and laser polishing processes for the complete manufacturing of complex parts. Therefore, the complete process is based on the application of a laser heat source both for the building of the preform shape of the part by additive manufacturing and for the finishing operations. Their combination enables the manufacture of near-net-shape parts and afterwards removes the excess material via laser machining, which has proved to be capable of eliminating the waviness resulting from the additive process. Besides, surface quality is improved via laser polishing so that the roughness of the final part is reduced. Therefore, conventional machining operations are eliminated, which results in a much cleaner process. To validate the capability of this new approach, the dimensional accuracy and surface quality as well as the microstructure of the resulting parts are evaluated. The process has been validated on an Inconel 718 test part, where a previously additively built-up part has been finished by means of laser machining and laser polishing.

Combination of Laser Material Deposition and Laser Surface processes for the manufacture of sculptured surface components

The present work proposes a novel manufacturing technique based on the combination of Laser Metal Deposition, Laser Beam Machining and Laser Polishing processes for the complete manufacturing of complex parts. Therefore, the complete process is based on the application of a laser heat source both for the building of the preform shape of the part by additive manufacturing and for the finishing operations. Their combination enables to manufacture near-net-shape parts and afterwards, remove the excess material via laser machining, which has resulted to be capable of eliminating the waviness resulting from the additive process. Besides, surface quality is improved via laser polishing to reduce the roughness of the final part. Therefore, conventional machining operations are eliminated, what results in a much cleaner process. In order to validate the capability of this new approach, the dimensional accuracy and surface quality of the resulting parts are evaluated. The process has been validated on an Inconel 718 test part, where a previously additively built up part has been finished by means of laser machining and laser polishing.

Study of the Influence of Shielding Gases on Laser Metal Deposition of Inconel 718 Superalloy

The use of the Laser Metal Deposition (LMD) technology as a manufacturing and repairing technique in industrial sectors like the die and mold and aerospace is increasing within the last decades. Research carried out in the field of LMD process situates argon as the most usual inert gas, followed by nitrogen. Some leading companies have started to use helium and argon as carrier and shielding gas, respectively. There is therefore a pressing need to know how the use of different gases may affect the LMD process due there being a lack of knowledge with regard to gas mixtures. The aim of the present work is to evaluate the influence of a mixture of argon and helium on the LMD process by analyzing single tracks of deposited material. For this purpose, special attention is paid to the melt pool temperature, as well as to the characterization of the deposited clads. The increment of helium concentration in the gases of the LMD processes based on argon will have three effects. The first one is a slight reduction of the height of the clads. Second, an increase of the temperature of the melt pool. Last, smaller wet angles are obtained for higher helium concentrations.