Laser Engineered Net Shaping

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Laser Engineered Net Shaping
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Companies

• Aerospace and Defense
• Industrial
• Biomedical
• Electronics
• Sandia National Labs

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How It Works

• Uses a high power laser to melt metal powder that
  is deposited onto the table. Metal is sprayed
  onto the focal point on the laser where the metal
  becomes fused together. An inert gas is used to
  shield the metal from atmospheric gases. It uses
  a layered approach to manufacture the components.
  

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LENS Diagram
Click here to read more about Laser Engineered
Net Shaping and to also view a diagram.
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Materials

• Stainless Steel 316 alloy
• H13 Tool Steel
• Titanium with 6 Aluminum and 4 Vanadium
• Copper
• Inconel

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Advantages of LENS

• Can be used to repair parts as well as fabricate
  new ones
• Has a very good granular structure
• Powder forming methods have few material
  limitations
• Doesnt require secondary firing operations
• The properties of the material are similar or
  better than the properties of the natural
  materials

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Disadvantages of LENS

• Some post processing involved
• The part must be cut from the build substrate
• Has a rough surface finish, may require machining
  or polishing
• Current maximum wall angle is 18 degrees
• Low dimensional accuracy

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LENS Specs

• The building area is usually contained within a
  chamber both to isolate the process from the
  ambient surroundings and to shield the operators
  from possible exposure to fine powders and the
  laser beam.
• The laser power used varies greatly, from a few
  hundred watts to 20KW or more, depending on the
  particular material, feed-rate and other
  parameters

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LENS Initial Applications

• Fabrication and repair of injection molding tools
• Fabrication of large titanium other exotic
  metal parts for aerospace applications

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LENS Capabilities

• Ability to build fully dense shapes
• Closed loop control of process for accurate part
  fabrication
• Ability to tailored deposition parameters to
  feature size for speed, accuracy, and property
  control
• Composite and functionally graded material
  deposition

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LENS Capabilities cont..

• Three- and four-axis systems for complex part
  fabrication
• Wide variety of materials that, at minimum,
  include stainless steel alloys (316, 304L, 309,
  17-4), maraging steel (M300), nickel-based
  superalloys (Inco designations 625, 600, 718,
  690), tool steel alloys (H13), titanium alloy
  (6Al-4V), and other specialty materials
• Mechanical properties similar or better than
  traditional processing methods

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Material Specs
Material type Ultimate Strength (ksi) Yield Strength (ksi) Elongation in one inch
LENS 316 Stainless 115 72 50
316 SS Wrought Stock 85 35 50
LENS Inconel 625 135 84 38
Inconel 625 Wrought Stock 121 58 30
LENS Ti-6Al-4V 170 155 11
Ti-6Al-4V Wrought Stock 130 120 10
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In Process Picture (Sky Scraper)
Click here to view an in process picture.
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In Process Picture 2
Click on the link below to view more pictures and
read more about Investigating Solidification with
the Laser-Engineered Net Shaping (LENSTM)
Process.
http//www.tms.org/pubs/journals/ JOM/9907/Hofmeis
ter/Hofmeister-9907.html
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In Process Picture 3 and Produced Parts
Click this link and scroll down to view more
pictures of the process and products.
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References

• http//home.att.net/castleisland/len_int.htm
• http//www.optomec.com/
• http//sandia.gov/media/lens.htm
• http//www.tms.org/pubs/journals/JOM/9907/Hofmeist
  er/Hofmeister-9907.html