Hybrid direct manufacturing method of metallic parts using deposition and micro continuous rolling

• Published in: Rapid prototyping journal Vol. 19; no. 6; pp. 387 - 394
• Main Authors: Zhang, Haiou, Wang, Xiangping, Wang, Guilan, Zhang, Yang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bradford Emerald Group Publishing Limited 30-09-2013
• Subjects: Accuracy; Continuous casting; Cooling; Crystals; Deformation; Dendritic structure; Deposition; Devices; Energy efficiency; Engineering; Hot rolling; Industrial engineering, design & manufacturing; Lasers; Low cost; Manufacturing; Methods; Microstructure; Rapid prototyping; Residual stress; Stress concentration; Studies; Tensile strength; Pressure forming; Hybrid process; Rapid direct manufacturing; Freeform deposition manufacturing; Micro continuous rolling
• ISSN: 1355-2546; 1758-7670
• DOI: 10.1108/RPJ-01-2012-0006

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to report a new direct metal manufacturing method which integrates freeform deposition process and micro rolling process, introduce the manufacturing principle and show the advantages of this method.
Design/methodology/approach
– This paper introduces the hybrid manufacturing principle and devices first. Then, the key parameters of hybrid manufacturing process are studied by contrast experiments. The results of comparisons of manufacturing accuracy, microstructure and tensile test between freeform fabricated parts and hybrid manufactured parts show the advantages of this new direct manufacturing method.
Findings
– The experiments results show that the accuracy of hybrid manufacturing method is improved obviously comparing with arc-based freeform deposition manufacturing method; the microstructure of the hybrid manufacturing part turns into cellular crystal instead of dendrite; the tensile strength of the part increases by 33 percent and the tensile deformation improved more than two times.
Originality/value
– The paper presents a new hybrid direct metal manufacturing method for the first time. The hybrid manufacturing devices are developed. The experiments results show that the hybrid manufacturing method can be used on directly fabricating large metal components with outstanding quality, efficiency and low cost. The application prospect is great.