Additive manufacturing(AM)has the potential to transform manufacturing by enabling previously un-thinkable products,digital inventory and delivery,and distributed manufacturing.Here we presented an extrusion-based met...Additive manufacturing(AM)has the potential to transform manufacturing by enabling previously un-thinkable products,digital inventory and delivery,and distributed manufacturing.Here we presented an extrusion-based metal AM method(refer to“SoftTouch”depositionin thefiledpatent)thatis suitablefor making the metal feedstock flowable prior to the deposition through dynamic recrystallization induced grain refinement at elevated temperatures.The flowable metal was extruded out of the printer head like a paste for building dense metal parts with fine equiaxed grains and wrought mechanical properties.Off-the-shelf metal rods were used as feedstock and the printing process was completed in an open-air environment,avoiding pricy powders and costly inert or vacuum conditions.The resulting multi-layer de-posited 6061 aluminum alloys yield strength and ductility comparable to wrought 6061 aluminum alloys after the same T6 heat treatment.The extrusion-based metal AM method can also be advanced as green manufacturing technologies for fabricating novel alloys and composites,adding novel features to existing parts,repairing damaged metal parts,and welding advanced metals for supporting sustainable manufac-turing,in addition to being developed into a cost-effective manufacturing process for the fabrication of dense metal of complex structural forms.展开更多
基金This work was financially supported by the University of Michi-gan College of Engineering startup grant and FL and PD acknowl-edge the technical support from the Michigan Center for Materials Characterization(MC^(2)).
文摘Additive manufacturing(AM)has the potential to transform manufacturing by enabling previously un-thinkable products,digital inventory and delivery,and distributed manufacturing.Here we presented an extrusion-based metal AM method(refer to“SoftTouch”depositionin thefiledpatent)thatis suitablefor making the metal feedstock flowable prior to the deposition through dynamic recrystallization induced grain refinement at elevated temperatures.The flowable metal was extruded out of the printer head like a paste for building dense metal parts with fine equiaxed grains and wrought mechanical properties.Off-the-shelf metal rods were used as feedstock and the printing process was completed in an open-air environment,avoiding pricy powders and costly inert or vacuum conditions.The resulting multi-layer de-posited 6061 aluminum alloys yield strength and ductility comparable to wrought 6061 aluminum alloys after the same T6 heat treatment.The extrusion-based metal AM method can also be advanced as green manufacturing technologies for fabricating novel alloys and composites,adding novel features to existing parts,repairing damaged metal parts,and welding advanced metals for supporting sustainable manufac-turing,in addition to being developed into a cost-effective manufacturing process for the fabrication of dense metal of complex structural forms.
