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Jul 20, 2016 | By Benedict

Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory are using metal 3D printing to create strong and lightweight structures for advanced laser systems, potentially altering the future of laser design. The research will involve trialling a new “feed-forward” approach to testing and certification.

Using a powder bed SLM 3D printer, one of only four of its kind in the world, a team of LLNL researchers led by physicist Ibo Matthews is experimenting with printing techniques in order to create new laser system components. The team has been afforded unprecedented design control thanks to a customized software platform and a 3D printer developed by the Franhofer Institute for Laser Technology (ILT) and startup Aconity 3D. Installed in December 2015, the metal 3D printer has now been supplemented with diagnostics and high-speed cameras which can examine thermal emissions and surface details during the printing process.

With the addition of these extra features, the researchers can now more easily determine how defects occur during the printing process: “It's very flexible; it allows us to change any of the parameters we want,” Matthews said. “We're developing confidence in what we've built. If any defects occur, it is our aim that the user can have a 3D map available at the end of the build that shows what and where it happened.”

The research being undertaken by Matthews and co is part of a broader initiative to expand the  National Ignition Facility & Photon Science (NIF&PS) laser applications portfolio while maintaining “core competencies in laser-matter interaction science.” The team believes that metal 3D printing has the potential to improve laser technologies both at NIF and in airborne systems which need to be incredibly lightweight—those used for aerial scanning and remote sensing, for example. “With precision, predictive control of 3D printing you can put the stiffness where you need it,” said Mike Carter, NIF&PS program director for Department of Defense Technologies. “You can create functionally graded structures for optical lasers and mounts that are impossible to make by conventional manufacturing methods.”

Although NIF has already used 3D printed metal parts in some applications, those required for critical laser applications must undergo thorough testing to ensure their soundness. This certification process can be long and laborious, so researchers are looking to develop a “feed-forward” method based on computer modeling rather than trial and error. If this method proves successful, it could change the way metal components are designed and built. “Unless you take a science-based approach to this, you won't know why part A is different from part B,” said Wayne King of LLNL's Physical and Life Sciences Directorate. “We're really pushing the state of the art. We're at the beginning of seeing some applications of the technology already.”

The metal 3D printing project began last year, and will continue for another two. During the remainder of the research, the team will look to combine metal 3D printing with high-fidelity optical diagnostics and high-performance computing to create better 3D printed parts for laser systems. To do so, the researchers will create a “digital fingerprint” of certification for its simulation-based approach, helping to ensure that quality parts are built without extensive trial and error. "We'd like to be predictive, based on our physics models, to find out what we can expect with any given build and have monitoring data to show that predictions matched the outcome,” Matthews said.

The 3D printer developed by the Franhofer Institute and Aconity 3D will, according to the researchers, play a big role in the study of metal 3D printing for laser design. “It takes you from this black box to something you have control over,” Matthews commented. “It puts us two years ahead of where we would've been if we hadn't bought it.”

The new 3D printing platform is being supported by both NIF&PS and LLNL’s Weapons and Complex Integration and Engineering directorates.

 

 

Posted in 3D Printing Technology

 

 

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