Date of Award

2020-01-01

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Manufacturing Engineering

Advisor(s)

Amit A. Lopes

Abstract

Additive Manufacturing is a technology that allows the on-demand manufacturing of complex geometries that cannot be fabricated through traditional subtractive manufacturing methods. Powder Bed Fusion is one of the seven categories of Additive Manufacturing with two subcategories, the Laser Beam Melting and the Electron Beam Melting. Freedom of design, rapid prototyping, and customization are some of the benefits that this technology provides. Like any technology, there are limitations for each category and subcategory. The Electron Beam Melting uses the electron beam to pre-heat the powder bed, reducing the temperature difference between the build part and powder bed, causing the surrounding powder to sinter. The advantage of sintered powder is that it keeps the printed part in place; however, the Electron Beam Melting causes the internal channel features to get clogged with this sintered powder. The Powder Recovery System is a machine used to remove the sintered powder from the outside, but it cannot remove the sintered powder from deep internal channel sections. For this research, three methods to remove trapped sintered powder are presented and evaluated on how efficient they in removing it from internal channels sections in parts made in Electron Beam Melting Powder Bed Fusion. The results show that, after the PRS, Ultrasonic, and Liquid Nitrogen with Ultrasonic did not have a significant effect. In contrast, Chemical Etching proved to be the best method to remove a small portion of the trapped sintered powder.

Language

en

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

File Size

193 pages

File Format

application/pdf

Rights Holder

Luis Cesar Ramos Castañeda

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