Additive particle deposition and selective laser processing-a computational manufacturing framework

Many additive manufacturing technologies involve the deposition of particles onto a surface followed by selective, targeted, laser heating. This paper develops a modular computational framework which combines the various steps within this overall process. Specifically, the framework synthesizes the following:particle dynamics, which primarily entails: (a) the movement of the particles induced by contact with the surface, (b) particle-to-particle contact forces and (c) near-field interaction and external electromagnetic fields.laser-input, which primarily entails: (a) absorption of laser energy input and (b) beam interference (attenuation) from particles andparticle thermodynamics, which primarily entails: (a) heat transfer between particles in contact by conduction and (b) subsequent thermal softening of the particles. Numerical examples are provided and extensions are also addressed for two advanced processing scenarios involving solid-liquid-gas phase transformations.