For several years, rapid manufacturing techniques have saved time in the production of complex parts. These additive techniques do not require specific tools and can be produced directly from CAD files. From its long experience and its patent on a coaxial powder cladding nozzle, IREPA LASER has developed tools adapted for rapid manufacturing of small metallic parts. The objective of this work is the development of a process for the manufacturing of small mechanical components by laser micro-cladding. A coaxial powder feeder nozzle was developed from a patented model of nozzle by IREPA LASER with a computational model of the gas powder flow in order to reduce the powder stream diameter and the results were validated by experimental powder stream diameter measurements. The nozzle adaptation allows manufacture of small titanium alloy parts with high powder catchment efficiency beyond 40%.
展开▼
