High-Efficiency Wire-fed Laser Additive Manufacturing Enabled by Dual-Beam Keyhole-Mode Deposition

Laser Direct Energy Deposition (LDED) has attracted considerable attention in industrial manufacturing because of its excellent component performance and high forming precision. Among the different LDED approaches, wire-fed LDED is especially attractive due to its nearly 100% material utilization. However, its relatively low deposition efficiency still limits its application in the efficient fabrication of large-scale metallic components.

This talk presents a dual-beam keyhole-mode wire-fed laser direct energy deposition (DB-KW-LDED) process for high-efficiency and high-quality metal deposition. In this process, a high-power-density wire-melting laser induces a keyhole at the wire tip for efficient energy absorption and rapid melting, while a second laser generates a shallow melt pool on the substrate to promote wetting, spreading, and solidification. Using this synergistic dual-beam strategy, well-formed 316L deposits were achieved at a scanning speed of 10 m/min, demonstrating deposition efficiency comparable to wire arc additive manufacturing while maintaining superior mechanical performance. This talk will discuss the synergistic effect of the dual-beam configuration and the underlying mechanisms that enable stable high-speed deposition.