TECHNICAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL SOLUTIONS IN THE COMPONENT DESIGN OF METAL ALLOY 3D-PRINTING EQUIPMENT

Abstract

The article presents theoretical studies of modern methods of volumetric shaping of metallic components in a controlled protective atmosphere, considered as processes of 3D printing using powder materials and filler material in the form of metal wire. An analysis is provided of experimental technologies developed by Ukrainian research and development enterprises, which are currently undergoing intensive testing in contemporary additive manufacturing of metals and alloys, along with a review of recent research in this field. The influence of technological factors and their relationship with the configuration-related properties of shaping equipment on the quality of the physical and structural characteristics of materials in metal parts produced by deposition of supplementary material in layer-by-layer strategies is examined in detail. In particular, risks associated with micro- and macrostructural heterogeneity of metallic components and their correlation with potential anisotropy of the mechanical properties of printed parts with complex geometries are assessed. Technical and technological solutions are proposed for the component design of metal alloy 3D-printing equipment aimed at expanding the technological capabilities of additive manufacturing and reducing structural heterogeneity and mechanical anisotropy in thick-walled parts. These solutions are based on the introduction of additional software- controlled kinematic linkages within the orientation system of the feedstock guiding device and the positioning platform with a substrate for layer-by-layer deposition of molten material. Design proposals are also presented as schematic solutions for controlled application of an electron gun in 3D-printing systems that employ a beam shaped as a hollow inverted cone with its apex located in the melt pool formation zone on the substrate. Algorithms of inverse kinematics are substantiated for multi-actuated spatial mechatronic systems of the proposed 3D-printing equipment configurations, functioning as mechanisms for relative manipulation of the electron gun orientation, positioning of the feedstock guiding device, and movement of the substrate with previously formed metal layers, while maintaining melt pool geometry during deposition on curved surfaces of printed metallic components.