Near net shape processing for solar thermal propulsion hardware using directed light fabrication

摘要

Directed light fabrication (DLF) is a direct metal deposition process that fuses gas delivered powder, in the focal zone of a high powered laser beam to form fully fused near net shaped components. The near net shape processing of rhenium, tungsten, iridium and other high temperature materials may offer significant cost savings compared with conventional processing. This paper describes a 3D parametric solid model, integrated with a manufacturing model, and creating a control field which runs on the DLF machine directly depositing a fully dense, solid metal, near net shaped, nozzle component. Examples of DLF deposited rhenium, iridium and tantalum, from previous work, show a continuously solidified microstructure in rod and tube shapes. Entrapped porosity indicates the required direction for continued process development. These combined results demonstrate the potential for a new method to fabricate complex near net shaped components using materials of interest to the space and aerospace industries.