Additive Manufacturing of Titanium and AMC

Recent  developments in welding and additive manufacturing of titanium and other aerospace alloys will be presented, with a focus on high power laser and hybrid laser arc welding.  Welding processes covered, with application examples, will include high power laser and hybrid laser arc welding (HLAW).  Additive manufacturing processes discussed will include laser and EB powder bed and blown powder processes, again with example applications.  Developments in emerging processes such as hot wire GTAW will also be presented.

For additive manufacturing (AM) of metals, the very large cost to develop the required mechanical property database for a wide array of processes, materials, application end use, and market specific requirements warrants a cooperative and collaborative approach, especially where there is reasonably common interest to develop the mechanical properties needed to qualify a particular process for a particular market, whether this be full FAA flight qualification, or some other qualification. 

While additive manufacturing technology development efforts are underway in many locations worldwide, the US aerospace community lacks basic data for the properties achievable with particular material grades and AM processes.  In fact, the creation of an AM “properties database” was the most highly voted need identified in forming the Additive Manufacturing Consortium (AMC).  Development of a shared database of additive manufacturing properties is thus a major element of the work of the AMC.  MMPDS is seen as the model.  Progress in this area will be presented.