Laser consolidation: a novel additive manufacturing process for making net-shape functional metallic components for various applications

Laser consolidation (LC) is a novel additive manufacturing process being developed by the National Research Council Canada (NRC) at its London facility. LC offers unique capabilities in the production of net-shape functional metallic parts requiring no further post-processing. NRC's LC technology has achieved dimensional accuracy of up to +/-0.05 mm with a surface finish up to 1 \ub5m Ra (depending on the materials used in the manufacturing process). The LC process differs from other additive manufacturing technologies by its high precision deposition system that can build functional parts or build features using various alloys and high performance materials on top of an existing part. In this presentation, laser consolidation of various high performance materials (such as Ni-alloys, Co-alloys, Ti-alloys and Al-alloys) will be discussed in respect to their unique microstructure and mechanical properties (including fatigue/fracture properties). The examples will be given on building complex functional components and repairing parts otherwise unrepairable for aerospace, defense and other applications.In press: YesPeer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye