Additive manufacturing, commonly coined as ‘3D printing’, is an increasingly popular technology for the new age Digital Manufacturing involving the generation of parts and features from computer-aided drawings (CAD) in a typical layer by layer manner using various forms of materials from metals to polymers. A direct deposition is one of the many forms of additive manufacturing and in this course, the focus is on the laser blown powder technique for the manufacturing and/or remanufacturing of metal-based components – where a laser is used to melt metal powders delivered by a flowing gas to form first a melt pool which solidifies to create layers of deposition on a workpiece. It is synonymous with laser welding with a powder feedstock. This free-form fabrication method can be employed for a wide range of generative and regenerative applications such as feature addition and/or repair of components, coatings for functional purposes, on top of new component manufacturing, and across various industries – aerospace, automotive, marine and offshore, energy and infrastructure, heavy machinery, etc. 

Learning Objectives: 

• Learn the fundamentals of direct deposition and the laser blown powder (LBP) process – underlying concepts, key process inputs and outputs, system technology, and possible applications 
• Gain practical skills in the required programming, as well as pre-and post-process activities to generate simple build geometries 
• Acquire the know-how to draw input-output relations and in perform first-pass quality assessments for an actual deposition process
• Learn key process risks/hazards and best practises pertaining to system and operational health, safety and environment (HSE), as well as gain knowledge on the necessary licences and approvals to run an LBP process