INT1 - AddTemp

Laser-based 3D printing processes can produce components with unrivaled freedom of shape. This enables, for example, the design of novel compact e-drives for mobility solutions of the future.

The starting point of the project is the process combination of laser powder bed fusion (PBF-LB) with cw laser and ablation with ultra-short pulsed (uspUKP) laser beams, which was first implemented in the AddSub project. This combination allows fundamentally new ways to influence the heat controlconduction and thus the cooling gradients in the component.

In this way, the design freedom in additive manufacturing canis to be supplemented by a great freedom of design  in the local properties of the component, independent from the geometry.

Aim, approach and benefit

The aim of the project is to generate specific microstructures by directly influencing the cooling parameters in order to be able to set the locally required thermal, electrical and mechanical properties of the component in the future.

The resulting microstructure is to be influenced, for example, by using additional heat sources and intervening in the cooling processes. For this purpose, heat-dissipating additively generated structures will be introduced into the component and investigated. During the build-up process, they are removed again at the desired stagetime. Combined additive and subtractive laser processing is used for this purpose.

Due to the large number of process-related and geometric degrees of freedom, a multiscale model for predicting the temperature field and solidification behavior is to be developed. For the first time, the simulation-based adjustment of the process control allows the material properties to be adjusted locally in the component during the process. This holds great potential for lightweight construction and for saving energy in future mobility concepts - for example by increasing the efficiency of current-conducting components, magnetic components or heat exchangers.

In the future, the necessary process control is to be automatically derived from the simulation results in the concept of software-defined manufacturing.