Special Seminar: Weld-Based Additive Manufacturing System Engineering
Associate Professor Paul Sanders
Materials Science and Engineering, Michigan Technological University
Abstract
Michigan Tech is developing a complete procedure for weld-wire based additive manufacturing. The process starts with open source hardware and software developed for metal-based printing. Printer design and feedstock delivery is developed and optimized, sometimes using 3D printed plastic components for proof-of-concept. Open-source software and custom-designed interface boards are used to better control the printer. An open source welder is currently being designed that will deliver lower power for improved resolution. Hardware and software optimization are keys to quality component production, but custom metallic alloys designed for additive manufacturing can augment printability and properties. With respect to aluminum alloys, Michigan Tech has the ability to cast custom billets, extrude thin rods, and draw wire for subsequent printing. This enables design of wire compositions for additive (vs. welding in which the substrate mixes with the weld wire), as well as facilitates local property enhancements such as higher strength, wear resistance, or stiffness. We envision applications which add geometric flexibility to high volume manufacturing processes such as rolling, stamping, forging, extruding, or hydroforming. Finally, near net-shape weld-based additive is amenable to machining operations to create components with the required dimensional tolerances. Aspects of these developments will be demonstrated using a gas metal-arc welding (GMAW) strategy on a basic XYZ CNC table.
Biography: Paul Sanders earned his BS in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering from Michigan Technological University and his PhD in Materials Science from Northwestern University. His PhD research characterized the processing, structure, and mechanical properties of nano-grained palladium and copper. He post-doc’d at Argonne National Laboratory and Harvard University using lasers for solidification processing and material characterization. He then worked for 10 years on chassis materials (brake rotors and wheels) in Research and Advanced Engineering at Ford Motor Company. During that time he also worked at Jaguar Land Rover as a Six Sigma Black Belt. Since 2009 he has been a professor in Materials Science and Engineering at Michigan Technological University. His research team designs metallic microstructures by integrating computational materials engineering with structured (designed) experiments and laboratory verification trials. His primarily emphasis is aluminium alloy design, but he has also worked in cast iron, nickel, copper, and zinc alloy systems.
Contact Details: sanders@mtu.edu