Effect of Select LENS™ Processing Parameters on the Deposition of Ti-6Al-4V

Abstract Laser Engineered Net Shaping (LENS™) is a rapid prototyping technology that can build complex, three-dimensional geometries in metal. It converts STL files to metal prototypes by slicing the file into two-dimensional layers of user-defined thickness and superimposing successive layers as they are built. The user must choose the layer thickness when slicing the file and must match the deposition to keep the laser in focus throughout the build—large mismatches can cause the build to fail. Because deposition is primarily controlled by build parameters, designed experiments are used to study the effect of select process parameters on deposition for Ti-6Al-4V. A simple relation between these build parameters and deposition is developed, using experimental results to determine empirical constants. Experimental results suggest that deposition can be related to the product of mass flow rate and energy per unit area through a power relationship, and could prove useful in estimating an appropriate layer thickness.

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