Product Code: ICAL07_1902

Additive Manufacturing and Repair: Where Do Lasers Fit In?
Authors:
James Sears, South Dakota School of Mines & Technology; Rapid City SD USA
Presented at ICALEO 2007

Lasers are currently being used in many facets of Additive Manufacturing and repair. Cladding is probably the most wide spread use of lasers in additive manufacturing. There is also a growing use of laser technology for repair applications. Laser additive manufacturing for directly building complete structures has been limited but also seems to be growing. Lasers have been the choice when automation and low heat input are required. So how does laser technology compare to other methods (e.g., electron beam, plasma transferred arc, and ultrasonics) being used in additive manufacturing? Also, how are the other technologies being refined for additive manufacturing to fill similar requirements that previously only lasers could perform? This paper discusses the relative attributes of each of these technologies and how they compared to each other.