SBIR Phase I: Practical On-Machine Inspection Equipment (PROMISE) for Metal Deposition Processes

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will research and develop an innovative Practical On-Machine Inspection Equipment (PROMISE) for metal deposition processes. PROMISE will be a cost-effective and robust in-situ inspection system for direct metal deposition processes. Direct metal deposition processes are a very promising technology to rapidly fabricate or repair fully dense metal parts. These processes use a high power energy source to deposit metal materials layer by layer. The objective of this Phase I research project is to explore the feasibility of developing PROMISE to cost-effectively conduct in-situ inspection for the deposition of each layer so that immediate action can be carried out before the subsequent layer is deposited. The PROMISE enabling technologies include a cost-effective melt pool sensor, melt pool modeling, and innovative sensor system design. With proper processing and control of the sensor data, melt pool conditions can be effectively captured. With advanced melt pool modeling, we can fully understand the thermal behavior of laser-material interactions. Through integration with our path planning system, we can have a complete and a robust sensor system. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project will lead to dramatic improvement in part consistency and robustness due to process monitoring and control, thus greatly reducing process certification efforts. Insufficient automation in the in-situ inspection process is the biggest hurdle in achieving robustness and consistency in part quality. This quality issue is detrimental as a defect in the middle section of the deposition will spoil the entire part due to high performance requirements. This proposed technology will greatly reduce the operational complexity of metal deposition machines which will lessen the skill required for operators. This proposed project will then greatly broaden the scope of metal deposition applications and provide a significant impact to the design and manufacturing society. This technology can be used for many rapid prototyping and rapid manufacturing processes, as well as mold and die repair, and other manufacturing processes involving a high energy source, such as welding, cladding, plasma, thermal spray, ion beam techniques, etc.