Magnetic Field-Assisted Direct Liquid Metal Deposition
Common metal additive manufacturing technologies require intensive energy sources such as lasers to achieve the melting and bonding of a metallic feedstock. This leads to a sizeable carbon footprint especially for reflective materials such as aluminium. Moreover, it induces complex and turbulent melt pool dynamics leading to stochastic defect formation mechanisms that are hence difficult to suppress. We aim to propose an alternative approach similar to what is now practised on a large scale with thermoplastic polymers, i.e., Fused Deposition Modelling. In our technology, a metallic wire is fed through a nozzle and melted using traditional resistive heating. It then exits the nozzle producing a small meniscus before bonding and solidifying onto the previous deposited layer. This is especially challenging for metallic materials due to their combination of low viscosity, high capillary forces which induce instabilities such as bulging, and their propensity for chemical reaction, in particular with air. To achieve our goal, we explore the benefits of the application of a static magnetic field on the meniscus in order to overcome these issues. It does indeed give rise to visible effects on fluid flow and the development of bulging through the interplay between magnetic field, metal flow and the Seebeck effect, known to generate a current in the vicinity of a solidification front. The current project state will be presented, with a focus on the influence of the process parameters on the physics of direct melt deposition including mechanisms of defect development or suppression, such as the bulging instability.
EPFL
EPFL
EPFL
EPFL
EPFL
EPFL
EPFL
2024-09-04
EPFL
| Event name | Event acronym | Event place | Event date |
AAMS2024 | Paris, France | 2024-09-04 - 2024-09-06 | |