Subsurface Defect Evaluation of Selective-Laser-Melted Inconel 738LC Alloy Using Eddy Current Testing for Additive/Subtractive Hybrid Manufacturing

New materials and manufacturing technologies require applicable non-destructive techniques for quality assurance so as to achieve better performance.This study comprehensively investigated the effect of influencing factors includ-ing excitation frequency,lift-off distance,defect depth and size,residual heat,and surface roughness on the defect EC signals of an Inconel 738LC alloy produced by selective laser melting(SLM).The experimental investigations recorded the impedance amplitude and phase angle of EC signals for each defect to explore the feasibility of detecting sub-surface defects by merely analyzing these two key indicators.Overall,this study revealed preliminary qualitative and roughly quantitative relationships between influencing factors and corresponding EC signals,which provided a prac-tical reference on how to quantitively inspect subsurface defects using eddy current testing(ECT)on SLMed parts,and also made solid progress toward on-line ECT in additive/subtractive hybrid manufacturing(ASHM)for fabricating SLMed parts with enhanced quality and better performance.

Performance-control-orientated hybrid metal additive manufacturing technologies:state of the art,challenges,and future trends

Metal additive manufacturing(AM)technologies have made significant progress in the basic theoretical field since their invention in the 1970s.However,performance instability during continuous processing,such as thermal history,residual stress accumulation,and columnar grain epitaxial growth,consistently hinders their broad application in standardized industrial production.To overcome these challenges,performance-control-oriented hybrid AM(HAM)technologies have been introduced.These technologies,by leveraging external auxiliary processes,aim to regulate microstructural evolution and mechanical properties during metal AM.This paper provides a systematic and detailed review of performance-control-oriented HAM technology,which is categorized into two main groups:energy field-assisted AM(EFed AM,e.g.ultrasonic,electromagnetic,and heat)technologies and interlayer plastic deformation-assisted AM(IPDed AM,e.g.laser shock peening,rolling,ultrasonic peening,and friction stir process)technologies.This review covers the influence of external energy fields on the melting,flow,and solidification behavior of materials,and the regulatory effects of interlayer plastic deformation on grain refinement,nucleation,and recrystallization.Furthermore,the role of performance-control-oriented HAM technologies in managing residual stress conversion,metallurgical defect closure,mechanical property improvement,and anisotropy regulation is thoroughly reviewed and discussed.The review concludes with an analysis of future development trends in EFed AM and IPDed AM technologies.

Effects of substrate surface treatments on hybrid manufacturing of AlSi7Mg using die casting and selective laser melting

To balance the manufacturing cost and customizability of automotive parts,a hybrid manufacturing process combining die-casting and selective laser melting(SLM)is proposed:starting with a conventional cast substrate,SLM is utilized to add additional geometric elements on top of it.For this hybrid process,the first priority is to prepare a substrate surface suitable for the subsequent SLM addition of the top-on elements.In this study,the original cast surface of AlSi7Mg was processed by sandblasting,wire electro-discharge machining,and laser remelting,respectively.Then,additional AlSi7Mg components were built on both the original cast and treated surfaces through SLM.After hybrid builds,these surfaces and resultant interfaces were examined by optical and scanning electron microscopes.Results indicate that the defect-free metallurgical joint between the cast and additively added parts can be formed on all surfaces except for the one processed by electro-discharge machining.The observed epitaxial grain growth crossing the interface implies a strong connection between the cast and the SLMed component.Despite these benefits,also mismatches in microstructure,residual stress level and element distribution between the two parts are identified.After a comprehensive assessment,laser remelting with no additional machining is recommended as the optimal surface treatment preceding SLM fabrication,because of its user-friendly operation,low cost,and high industrial feasibility.

Enhanced high-temperature mechanical properties of laser-arc hybrid additive manufacturing of Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy via microstructure control

Recently,rapid and cost-effective additive manufacturing solutions for lightweight aluminum alloys with excellent high-temperature mechanical properties have been increasingly in demand.In this study,we combined laser-arc hybrid additive manufacturing with solution and artificial aging treatments to achieve Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy with favorable high-temperature strength via microstructure control.Hydrogen pores became the major defect in the as-deposited and heat-treated specimens.The continuous distribution of eutectics with hard-brittle characteristics at the grain boundaries was destructed following heat treat-ment.High-densityηprecipitates were uniformly dispersed in the heat-treated Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy,whereas appeared coarsened and dissolved at 473 K,owing to the rapid diffusion of Zn and Mg.The average 0.2%yield strength(318±16 MPa)and ultimate tensile strength(362±20 MPa)at 473 K af-ter heat treatment were enhanced by approximately 58%and 51%,respectively,compared to those of the as-deposited specimen.In addition,theηprecipitates contributed to lattice distortions and strain fields,which prevented dislocation motion and increased slip deformation resistance at high temper-atures.The as-deposited specimen exhibited intergranular fracture at 473 K,with cracks preferring to propagate along the aggregated eutectics.However,crack propagation proceeded in the sections with more pores in the heat-treated specimen.Our approach may provide a valid option for achieving alu-minum alloys with excellent high-temperature mechanical properties.

Embedding aligned nanofibrous architectures within 3D-printed polycaprolactone scaffolds for directed cellular infiltration and tissue regeneration

Three-dimensional(3D) printing provides a promising way to fabricate biodegradable scaffolds with designer architectures for the regeneration of various tissues.However,the existing3D-printed scaffolds commonly suffer from weak cell-scaffold interactions and insufficient cell organizations due to the limited resolution of the 3D-printed features.Here,composite scaffolds with mechanically-robust frameworks and aligned nanofibrous architectures are presented and hybrid manufactured by combining techniques of 3D printing,electrospinning,and unidirectional freeze-casting.It was found that the composite scaffolds provided volume-stable environments and enabled directed cellular infiltration for tissue regeneration.In particular,the nanofibrous architectures with aligned micropores served as artificial extracellular matrix materials and improved the attachment,proliferation,and infiltration of cells.The proposed scaffolds can also support the adipogenic maturation of adipose-derived stem cells(ADSCs)in vitro.Moreover,the composite scaffolds were found to guide directed tissue infiltration and promote nearby neovascularization when implanted into a subcutaneous model of rats,and the addition of ADSCs further enhanced their adipogenic potential.The presented hybrid manufacturing strategy might provide a promising way to produce additional topological cues within 3D-printed scaffolds for better tissue regeneration.

Microstructure and properties of hybrid additive manufacturing 316L component by directed energy deposition and laser remelting

Arc additive manufacturing is a high-productivity and low-cost technology for directly fabricating fully dense metallic components.However,this technology with high deposit rate would cause degradation of dimensional accuracy and surface quality of the metallic component.A novel hybrid additive manufacturing technology by combining the benefit of directed energy deposition and laser remelting is developed.This hybrid technology is successfully utilized to fabricate 316L component with excellent surface quality.Results show that laser remelting can largely increase the amount ofδphases and eliminateσphases in additive manufacturing 316L component surface due to the rapid cooling.This leads to the formation of remelting layer with higher microhardness and excellent corrosion resistance when compared to the steel made by directed energy deposition only.Increasing laser remelting power can improve surface quality as well as corrosion resistance,but degrade microhardness of remelting layer owing to the decrease inδphases.

Interfacial Characteristics and Mechanical Behavior of Hybrid Manufactured AlSi10Mg–Al6061 Bimetal via Selective Laser Melting and Forging

Hybrid manufacturing(HM)uses additive manufacturing(AM)techniques to prepare complex or fine structures on traditional processing parts,which can fully utilize the advantages of AM to form complex parts,and the high efficiency and low cost of conventional processing methods in manufacturing regular components.A bimetal material was produced by selective laser melting(SLM)of AlSi10Mg on the deformed Al6061 alloy substrate in this study.Firstly,the interface characteristics of the two alloys were studied.The results show that a metallurgical interface with a thickness of 100–200μm was formed as the result of the Marangoni convection during SLM preparation.In detail,the circular flow in the melt pool at the interface led to the dilution of alloying elements and the change of microstructure.Moreover,a suitable first-layer thickness can eff ectively suppress the hot cracks at the interfacial region.Based on the optimized results,the hybrid manufactured samples with diff erent SLM processed volume ratios(SLM-part)to the substrate were prepared to study the mechanical properties and the deformation behavior of hybrid parts.The results show that the volume ratio of the SLM-part to the substrate had an influence on the strength and the elasto-plastic behavior by aff ecting the distribution of plastic deformation.

Porosity,cracks,and mechanical properties of additively manufactured tooling alloys:a review

Additive manufacturing(AM)technologies are currently employed for the manufacturing of completely functional parts and have gained the attention of hightechnology industries such as the aerospace,automotive,and biomedical fields.This is mainly due to their advantages in terms of low material waste and high productivity,particularly owing to the flexibility in the geometries that can be generated.In the tooling industry,specifically the manufacturing of dies and molds,AM technologies enable the generation of complex shapes,internal cooling channels,the repair of damaged dies and molds,and an improved performance of dies and molds employing multipleAMmaterials.Inthepresentpaper,a reviewof AM processes and materials applied in the tooling industry for the generation of dies and molds is addressed.AM technologies used for tooling applications and the characteristics of the materials employed in this industry are first presented.In addition,the most relevant state-of-the-art approaches are analyzed with respect to the process parameters and microstructural and mechanical properties in the processing of high-performance tooling materials used in AM processes.Concretely,studies on the AM of ferrous(maraging steels and H13 steel alloy)and non-ferrous(stellite alloys and WC alloys)tooling alloys are also analyzed.