Large Scale Additive Manufacturing Production and Inspection for Aerospace Components

Direct Energy Deposition (DED) technologies such the Sciaky Electron Beam Additive Manufacturing (EBAM™) are designed for large scale, high value added parts. The system uses wire feedstock and an electron beam heat source to produce a near-net shape part inside a vacuum chamber. The near-net shape parts are machined to achieve the final dimensions and tolerances required for the application. Compared to other metals additive manufacturing processes, the Sciaky EBAM™ provides one of the largest working envelopes while also achieving one of the highest deposition rates of all available additive technologies. When compared to traditional forging and/or machining technologies, the process provides material savings, reduces machining time and decrease time to market. Both of these factors make the technology attractive to large-scale, high-value components for several key aerospace alloys. Non-destructive inspection is necessary to qualify the part for deployment and may consist of Computer Tomography (CT), X-Ray, and Ultrasound inspection. The inspection process needs to reliably detect defects in the net-shape condition in order to verify the quality of the part while eliminating costly scrap and rework in the subsequent manufacturing processes. This presentation explores CT inspection technology and its capability to detect defects created during the AM process prior to final machining. The advantages and disadvantages of various inspection technologies will be discussed while highlighting inherent issues in CT inspection such as operation cost, material density and penetration limits, noise and beam hardening.