TY - JOUR
T1 - Energy consumption and saving analysis for laser engineered net shaping of metal powders
AU - Liu, Zhichao
AU - Ning, Fuda
AU - Cong, Weilong
AU - Jiang, Qiuhong
AU - Li, Tao
AU - Zhang, Hongchao
AU - Zhou, Yingge
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 by the authors.
PY - 2016/10
Y1 - 2016/10
N2 - With the increasing awareness of environmental protection and sustainable manufacturing, the environmental impact of laser additive manufacturing (LAM) technology has been attracting more and more attention. Aiming to quantitatively analyze the energy consumption and extract possible ways to save energy during the LAM process, this investigation studies the effects of input variables including laser power, scanning speed, and powder feed rate on the overall energy consumption during the laser deposition processes. Considering microhardness as a standard quality, the energy consumption of unit deposition volume (ECUDV, in J/mm3) is proposed as a measure for the average applied energy of the fabricated metal part. The potential energy-saving benefits of the ultrasonic vibration-assisted laser engineering net shaping (LENS) process are also examined in this paper. The experimental results suggest that the theoretical and actual values of the energy consumption present different trends along with the same input variables. It is possible to reduce the energy consumption and, at the same time, maintain a good part quality and the optimal combination of the parameters referring to Inconel 718 as a material is laser power of 300 W, scanning speed of 8.47 mm/s and powder feed rate of 4 rpm. When the geometry shaping and microhardness are selected as evaluating criterions, American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) 4140 powder will cause the largest energy consumption per unit volume. The ultrasonic vibration-assisted LENS process cannot only improve the clad quality, but can also decrease the energy consumption to a considerable extent.
AB - With the increasing awareness of environmental protection and sustainable manufacturing, the environmental impact of laser additive manufacturing (LAM) technology has been attracting more and more attention. Aiming to quantitatively analyze the energy consumption and extract possible ways to save energy during the LAM process, this investigation studies the effects of input variables including laser power, scanning speed, and powder feed rate on the overall energy consumption during the laser deposition processes. Considering microhardness as a standard quality, the energy consumption of unit deposition volume (ECUDV, in J/mm3) is proposed as a measure for the average applied energy of the fabricated metal part. The potential energy-saving benefits of the ultrasonic vibration-assisted laser engineering net shaping (LENS) process are also examined in this paper. The experimental results suggest that the theoretical and actual values of the energy consumption present different trends along with the same input variables. It is possible to reduce the energy consumption and, at the same time, maintain a good part quality and the optimal combination of the parameters referring to Inconel 718 as a material is laser power of 300 W, scanning speed of 8.47 mm/s and powder feed rate of 4 rpm. When the geometry shaping and microhardness are selected as evaluating criterions, American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) 4140 powder will cause the largest energy consumption per unit volume. The ultrasonic vibration-assisted LENS process cannot only improve the clad quality, but can also decrease the energy consumption to a considerable extent.
KW - Energy consumption
KW - Laser engineered net shaping
KW - Ultrasonic vibration
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85008694415&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/en9100763
DO - 10.3390/en9100763
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85008694415
SN - 1996-1073
VL - 9
JO - Energies
JF - Energies
IS - 10
M1 - 763
ER -