High Precision Manufacturing of Complex Geometries Using Combined Additive and Subtractive DMD Technology

Direct Metal Deposition (DMD) is a laser based additive manufacturing technology commercialized by The POM Group Inc. for manufacturing, and remanufacturing of complex components. DMD can create metal parts directly from CAD data using metal powders and a high energy laser beam. Its patented close loop control allows fabrication of near net shape parts with optimal microstructures and properties.  Until recently, DMD processed parts required separate post machining for the final shape. However, recent advances have led to a combination of additive and subtractive technology that can produce net shape parts directly from CAD data. SYNERGY5 and DMD 405γ are new generation DMD systems that offer this capability. While SYNERGY5 uses a newly developed dry micro-EDM technology for post machining of the DMD part, DMD 405γ uses a femtosecond laser for post processing. 

 Complex parts for aerospace industry made with expensive Ni, Co and/or Ti alloys can immensely benefit from usage of DMD technology. Besides manufacturing complete parts from scratch, part reconfiguration by feature addition and/or remanufacturing of existing high value parts is another great application area for DMD technology. Combination of additive and subtractive technology opens the door for manufacturing high precision parts with complex geometries. Examples can be turbine blades with complex cooling channels that are hard to fabricate using conventional techniques.  

The current presentation will describe the new advances in DMD technology, integration of subtractive processes with DMD process, its benefits and some case studies.