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Development and Applications of Laser-Based Additive Manufacturing
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Development and Applications of Laser-Based Additive Manufacturing

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Manufacturing Processes and Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 August 2025 | Viewed by 5270

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Changjun Chen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laser Processing Research Center, School of Mechanical and Electric Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou 215131, China
Interests: laser metal deposition (laser additive manufacturing, laser cladding); laser welding; laser hardening; remanufacturing; coating
Dr. Chaolin Tan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 2 Fusionopolis Way, Singapore 138634, Singapore
Interests: additive manufacturing; metallurgy science; advanced manufacturing
Dr. Ashfaq Khan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Engineering and Mathematics, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheaf Street, Sheffield S1 1WB, UK
Interests: lasers; additive manufacturing; material characterisation; mechanical properties

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Manufacturing technology is crucial for the advancement of humankind. Therefore, there is an ongoing effort to continuously improve and enhance manufacturing techniques that can facilitate rapid, sustainable, and cost-effective production of a wide array of materials. Amidst this ongoing human endeavour, several breakthroughs have been made in manufacturing technologies. However, none have been as promising and prevalent in recent times as the development of additive manufacturing (AM) technologies.

Additive manufacturing entails the layered deposition of materials and the cohesion of these layers to create intricate parts in a single-step process. Among the most effective methods for joining these successive layers is the utilisation of lasers as targeted heat sources for fusing the layers. Consequently, lasers have emerged as invaluable tools in AM, particularly for metal processing. Additive manufacturing with lasers offers unique advantages, including the ability to create functionally graded parts and achieve tuneable microstructure properties, to name a few.

Due to their numerous advantages, AM techniques find application in nearly every sector and are of particular interest to the aerospace, electronics, and medical fields. Although laser-based AM has undergone extensive investigation in recent years, it still holds significant untapped potential. Additionally, with the development of new materials and advancements in laser systems, there is a growing need for further exploration.

Hence, this Special Issue aims to explore the latest developments and applications of laser-based additive manufacturing.

Prof. Dr. Changjun Chen
Dr. Chaolin Tan
Dr. Ashfaq Khan
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • lasers
  • additive manufacturing
  • 3D printing
  • materials processing
  • selective laser melting
  • selective laser sintering
  • direct metal deposition
  • microstructure

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 11140 KiB  
Article
Removing Alpha Case from Laser Powder Bed Fusion Components by Cavitation Abrasive Surface Finishing
by Rohin Petram, Conall Wisdom, Alex Montelione, Cole Nouwens, Dan Sanders, Mamidala Ramulu and Dwayne Arola
Materials 2025, 18(9), 1977; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18091977 - 26 Apr 2025
Viewed by 151
Abstract
Laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) has become a highly viable method for manufacturing metal structural components for a variety of industries. Despite many attractive qualities, the rough surfaces of L-PBF components often necessitates post-processing treatments to improve the surface finish. Furthermore, heat treatments [...] Read more.
Laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) has become a highly viable method for manufacturing metal structural components for a variety of industries. Despite many attractive qualities, the rough surfaces of L-PBF components often necessitates post-processing treatments to improve the surface finish. Furthermore, heat treatments are generally necessary to control the microstructure and properties of L-PBF components, which can impart a detrimental surface oxide layer that requires removal. In this investigation, cavitation abrasive surface finishing (CASF) was adopted for the surface treatment of Ti6Al4V components produced by L-PBF and removal of the surface oxide layer. The surface texture, residual stress, and material removal were evaluated over a range of treatment conditions and as a function of the target surface orientation. Results showed that CASF reduced the average surface roughness from the as-built condition (Ra ≈ 15 µm) to below 5 µm as well as imparted a surface compressive residual stress of up to 600 MPa. The CASF treatment removed the alpha case from direct line-of-sight surfaces under a range of treatment intensity. However, deep valleys and surfaces at large oblique angles of incidence (≥60°) proved challenging to treat uniformly. Overall, results suggest that CASF could serve as a potent alternative to chemical treatments for post-processing of L-PBF components of titanium and other metals. Further investigation is recommended for improving the process effectiveness and to characterize the fatigue performance of the treated metal. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Development and Applications of Laser-Based Additive Manufacturing)
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20 pages, 27859 KiB  
Article
Unveiling the Effect of Ti Micro-Alloying on the Microstructure and Corrosion Resistance of the GH3536 Alloy Processed by Laser Metal Deposition in a Simulated Environment for PEMFCs
by Bing Xu, Bo Li, Jie Zhang, Jianping Tong and Yi Liu
Materials 2024, 17(23), 5900; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17235900 - 2 Dec 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 740
Abstract
This article addresses the knowledge gap regarding the effect of Ti addition on the microstructure and corrosion behavior of the LMD-processed GH3536 alloy in a simulated solution of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). The microstructural evolution, corrosion resistance, and passive film characteristics [...] Read more.
This article addresses the knowledge gap regarding the effect of Ti addition on the microstructure and corrosion behavior of the LMD-processed GH3536 alloy in a simulated solution of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). The microstructural evolution, corrosion resistance, and passive film characteristics of LMD-processed GH3536 alloy with varying Ti contents were characterized through a variety of techniques, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and a series of electrochemical measurements. The results indicate that the corrosion resistance of the LMD-processed GH3536 alloy significantly improves with increasing Ti content. However, when the Ti content exceeds 0.2 wt.%, the beneficial effect on corrosion resistance is weakened. Two primary mechanisms explain the enhanced corrosion resistance, involving the heterogeneous nucleation of Ti-modified Al2O3 and Ti solute segregation, which promotes grain refinement. In addition, grain refinement can provide more active sites for the formation of compact passive films, thereby improving corrosion resistance of the GH3536 alloy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Development and Applications of Laser-Based Additive Manufacturing)
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13 pages, 10574 KiB  
Article
Effect of Laser on the Interface and Thermal Conductivity of Metallized Diamond/Cu Composite Coatings Deposited by Supersonic Laser Deposition
by Yiyun Chen, Qunli Zhang, Bo Li, Zhijun Chen, Shaowu Liu, Xiaofei Ma, Szymon Tofil and Jianhua Yao
Materials 2024, 17(21), 5174; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17215174 - 24 Oct 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 825
Abstract
To achieve the rapid heat dissipation of components in the industrial field, the heat dissipation coating is prepared on the surface, which is conducive to improving the service life of the parts and greatly reducing the industrial costs. In this paper, metallized diamond/Cu [...] Read more.
To achieve the rapid heat dissipation of components in the industrial field, the heat dissipation coating is prepared on the surface, which is conducive to improving the service life of the parts and greatly reducing the industrial costs. In this paper, metallized diamond/Cu composite coatings were fabricated on 1060Al substrate by supersonic laser deposition. The composite coatings were prepared at a nitrogen pressure of 3.0 MPa, a scanning speed of 10 mm/s, and a 1060 nm semiconductor coupled fiber laser with different laser power. The research results show that the laser power affects the interface bonding by affecting the temperature of adiabatic shear instability during particle impact. The metallized diamond forms a good bonding at the interface through the plastic deformation of the Cu matrix. Appropriate parameters ensure that the jet does not affect the subsequent particle deposition and build a good heat transfer bridge to elevate the heat transfer efficiency. The coating prepared at a laser power of 1000 W has the highest thermal diffusion coefficient of 89.3 mm2/s and thermal conductivity of 313.72 W/(m·K), which is 8.92% higher compared to the coating prepared without laser. Experiments with thermal imaging have also demonstrated that the coating at optimal parameter transferred heat faster. Our research provides a technical guidance for rapid preparation of high-quality heat dissipation coatings in industry. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Development and Applications of Laser-Based Additive Manufacturing)
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12 pages, 4010 KiB  
Article
Effects of Tempering on Microstructure and Properties of Additive Manufacturing Cu-Bearing AISI 431 Steel
by Li Zhao, Baichun Li, Chaolin Tan and Hongmei Zhu
Materials 2024, 17(18), 4628; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17184628 - 21 Sep 2024
Viewed by 1012
Abstract
AISI 431 martensitic stainless steels (MSS) with 2.5 wt% Cu were fabricated via laser-directed energy deposition additive manufacturing followed by single-step tempering treatment. The influences of different tempering times at 600 °C on microstructure and mechanical properties of the as-deposited 431-2.5Cu MSS have [...] Read more.
AISI 431 martensitic stainless steels (MSS) with 2.5 wt% Cu were fabricated via laser-directed energy deposition additive manufacturing followed by single-step tempering treatment. The influences of different tempering times at 600 °C on microstructure and mechanical properties of the as-deposited 431-2.5Cu MSS have been explored and analyzed. The as-deposited MSS specimen primarily consisted of lath martensite, austenite and M23C6 carbide. After the single-step tempering treatment at 600 °C, Cu-enriched (ԑ-Cu) nano-precipitates and reverse austenite can be formed and promoted by extending the tempering treatment. The microhardness, strength and elongation can be improved with increasing the tempering time up to 1.0 h, and subsequently reduced with the tempering time prolonging to 2.0 h. Compared to 431 MSS that requires a multiple-step heat treatment for excellent performance, the 431-2.5Cu MSS specimen presented superior tensile properties after single-step tempering at 600 °C for 1.0 h in the present work. The ultimate tensile strength (UTS), yield strength (YS) and elongation (EL) of one-hour tempered MSS were 1611 MPa, 1334 MPa and 16.3%, respectively. This study provides a quantitative theoretical reference and experimental basis for realizing short-process fabrication of the Cu-bearing MSS with high strength and ductility. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Development and Applications of Laser-Based Additive Manufacturing)
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13 pages, 13807 KiB  
Article
Simulation and Experimental Investigation on Additive Manufacturing of Highly Dense Pure Tungsten by Laser Powder Bed Fusion
by Enwei Qin, Wenli Li, Hongzhi Zhou, Chengwei Liu, Shuhui Wu and Gaolian Shi
Materials 2024, 17(16), 3966; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17163966 - 9 Aug 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1601
Abstract
Tungsten and its alloys have a high atomic number, high melting temperature, and high thermal conductivity, which make them fairly appropriate for use in nuclear applications in an extremely harsh radioactive environment. In recent years, there has been growing research interest in using [...] Read more.
Tungsten and its alloys have a high atomic number, high melting temperature, and high thermal conductivity, which make them fairly appropriate for use in nuclear applications in an extremely harsh radioactive environment. In recent years, there has been growing research interest in using additive manufacturing techniques to produce tungsten components with complex structures. However, the critical bottleneck for tungsten engineering manufacturing is the high melting temperature and high ductile-to-brittle transition temperature. In this study, laser powder bed fusion has been studied to produce bulk pure tungsten. And finite element analysis was used to simulate the temperature and stress field during laser irradiation. The as-printed surface as well as transverse sections were observed by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy to quantitatively study processing defects. The simulated temperature field suggests small-sized powder is beneficial for homogenous melting and provides guidelines for the selection of laser energy density. The experimental results show that ultra-dense tungsten bulk has been successfully obtained within a volumetric energy density of 200–391 J/mm3. The obtained relative density can be as high as 99.98%. By quantitative analysis of the pores and surface cracks, the relationships of cracks and pores with laser volumetric energy density have been phenomenologically established. The results are beneficial for controlling defects and surface quality in future engineering applications of tungsten components by additive manufacturing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Development and Applications of Laser-Based Additive Manufacturing)
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