Product Code: ICAL05_609

Laser Consolidation of Al 4047 Alloy
Authors:
Lijue Xue, National Research Council Canada; London ON Canada
Andre Theriault, National Research Council Canada; London Ontario Canada
Jianyin Chen, National Research Council Canada; London Ontario Canada
Presented at ICALEO 2005

Laser consolidation (LC) is a novel manufacturing process that produces net-shape functional and metallurgically sound components by adding material based on a CAD model. Parts are built layer-by-layer using a laser beam to melt injected powder and re-solidifying it onto a substrate. As an alternative to conventional machining processes, the LC process builds complete net-shape functional parts or features on existing parts by adding instead of removing material. In this paper, laser consolidation of Al 4047 alloy is demonstrated. The LC process successfully built metallurgically sound Al 4047 alloy samples on Al substrate. The microstructure of LC Al 4047 material was examined in detail by optical microscope, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and x-ray diffraction (XRD), while its chemical composition was analyzed by energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The heat treatment of the LC Al 4047 samples was also investigated. The tensile properties of the LC Al 4047 material were evaluated and compared with reference data. In addition, several LC Al 4047 samples were produced to demonstrate the capability of the process. Laser consolidation of Al-alloys has many potential applications in aerospace, mold making and other industries for rapid tooling, small quantity production, and repair of expensive components.