In-process Microstructure Tuning in Solid-State Ambient Condition Metal Direct Manufacturing

Acoustoplastic Metal Direct-write (AMD), a recently demonstrated metal direct manufacturing technique, uses acoustic energy to enable deformation and deposition of voxels of fully dense material from metal filaments. Voxel by voxel, this technique is capable of creating high density (> 99.5%) metal parts at room temperature and in ambient conditions without post-processes. To understand the microstructure evolution of the component during the fabrication process, Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) analysis was performed on three successive layers in a built part. No significant effect of the deposition of additional material was observed on the lower layers. Hence, by manipulating the microstructure of each voxel during deposition process, the microstructure of the bulk of the component can be potentially controlled.