In-situ precipitation processes in additive manufacturing

In this project, we investigate precipitation processes that occur “in-situ” during additive manufacturing. Reactions between the process atmosphere and the melt pool as well as reactions between different elements in the melt pool can lead to the formation of precipitates and particles. To achieve these reactions, we employ reactive gases in the process atmosphere, and we add certain reactive elements to the powder (under an inert gas atmosphere). Since L-PBF (Laser Powder-Bed-Fusion) and DED (Direct Energy Deposition) are layer-based manufacturing routes, these precipitation processes can be used to create areas in the material with different properties, or to create coatings.

This sub-project is part of the dtec.bw-project "High-Tech Forschungslabor für additive Fertigung” (FLAB-3Dprint). FLAB-3Dprint is a joint undertaking of researchers at UniBw M and at WIWeB with the goal to create a high-tech research lab to investigate additive manufacturing processes and materials, and to advance applications of AM.