17 – Laser consolidation: a rapid manufacturing process for making net-shape functional components

: Laser consolidation is a novel computer-aided manufacturing process being developed by the Industrial Materials Institute of National Research Council of Canada (NRC-IMI). As an alternative to the conventional machining process, this novel manufacturing process builds net-shape functional parts or features on an existing part by adding instead of removing material. In this chapter, NRC-IMI’s progress on laser consolidation research has been reviewed. The functional properties of laser consolidated materials are reported, while the observation of unique microstructure of the laser consolidated materials is discussed. examples of laser consolidation process for making net-shape functional components for various industrial applications have been presented.