Surface modification of additive manufactured components by ultrasonic cavitation abrasive finishing

Powder Bed Fusion (PBF) is a group of powder-bed based layered Additive Manufacturing (AM) techniques for direct fabrication of metal and metal alloys. Despite its advancements, the surface quality of as-built PBF components remains unsatisfactory. In this paper, a new post-process finishing techniq...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Tan, Kai Liang, Yeo, Song Huat
Other Authors: School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: 2017
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/86841
http://hdl.handle.net/10220/44231
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Institution: Nanyang Technological University
Language: English
Description
Summary:Powder Bed Fusion (PBF) is a group of powder-bed based layered Additive Manufacturing (AM) techniques for direct fabrication of metal and metal alloys. Despite its advancements, the surface quality of as-built PBF components remains unsatisfactory. In this paper, a new post-process finishing technique, based on ultrasonic cavitation effects in a solid-liquid mixture, is introduced for PBF-built components. Trials were conducted on side surfaces of Inconel 625 manufactured by Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS). Results have demonstrated that this technique improves Ra values of as-built Inconel 625 side surfaces by up to 45% after 30 min of processing time. Scanning electron microscopic images revealed that most small-sized partially melted powders were removed through heterogeneous cavitation nucleation on the specimens’ rough initial surface. A secondary fine-scale erosion mechanism by micro-abrasives, accelerated by cavitation bubble collapses, further depressed difficult-to-remove irregularities.