Experimental Study of Direct Metal Prototyping Prcess

금속재료를 이용한 직접식 3차원 형상제조공정의 실험적 연구

This study attempts to develop a process which can produce three-dimensional shapes of metals directly from CAD data. Prototypes made from metals, can not only be used to test the mecchanical properties of the product, but also potentially become the actual die or product itself. The test-device of the process has been designed and manufactured. The laser scanning method using a scanning path schedule composed of circle and arc elements, scanning speed variation method and dwell method have been developed, which resist warping phenomenon and increase the adhesiveness between the layers. For the production of prototypes with pure iron powder, the optimal values of the principal process parameters have been determined, through which cross-shaped and twisted clover-shaped prototypes have been fabricated. In order to improve the strength of the prototype, the experimental studies of solid-phase sintering, and copper infiltration have been done.