Automation and modeling of a novel laser cladding process to repair and rebuild worn components for extreme applications

新型激光熔覆工艺的自动化和建模，用于修复和重建极端应用的磨损部件

• 批准号: 537378-2018
• 负责人: Ahmad, Rafiq
• 金额: $ 4.75万
• 依托单位: University of Alberta
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Collaborative Research and Development Grants
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2019-01-01 至 2020-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=691366
• 关键词: Automation; modeling; novel; laser; cladding; Automation; modeling; novel; laser; cladding

One of the most promising areas in manufacturing is what is called "advanced manufacturing," which commonly refers to the new possibilities offered by lasers and additive manufacturing processes. While this technology is well-established in polymers ("3D printing"), applying this technique to metals brings challenges that significantly affect the feasibility on an industrial scale in manufacturing. This project focuses on a specific subset of the area of additive manufacturing, and targets the repair of parts that have been worn out in extreme applications. Such applications include the resource-based industries that experience extreme abrasion in hard-rock mining and oilsands extraction, extreme high-speed wood cutting, and the manufacturing of composites for the aerospace industry, including hot-stages of thrust-vectoring nozzles. The repair welds that take a worn part and bring it back to its original shape have been demonstrated to be very effective, as they can improve the material properties beyond those of the original part, while also reducing the environmental impact. Two main technologies are used in this approach, one involving the deposition of layers (e.g. laser cladding), and another the buildup of 3D structures (e.g. additive manufacturing). However, as each part is unique, the process of making such repairs is currently labour intense, and new processes for 3D scanning and programming the welds are necessary to make the technology economically feasible for more industries. The project will develop novel techniques and processes to scan, program, and weld such parts. The complexities of the project stem from the required combination of part localization, identification and quantification of the damaged part with robust 3D reconstruction and comparison using 3D point-cloud data information, and the tool path planning based on the material behavior. The intrinsic properties of metals during the deposition process results in material transformations and residual stresses throughout the newly deposited material, which require a thorough investigation, and need to be taken into consideration in the toolpath planning. The goal is to create an automated system with Industry 4.0 capabilities that controls the process parameters for repair.

制造业中最有希望的领域之一就是所谓的“高级制造”，通常是指激光和增材制造工艺提供的新可能性。尽管该技术在聚合物（“ 3D打印”）中已经建立了良好，但将此技术应用于金属带来的挑战会显着影响生产工业规模上的可行性。该项目着重于添加剂制造区域的特定子集，并针对在极端应用中磨损的零件的维修。此类应用包括基于资源的行业，这些行业在硬岩采矿和油砂中经历了极端的磨损，高速造型的高速木材切割以及为航空航天行业的复合材料制造，包括推力 - 向量的喷嘴的热阶段。磨损部分并将其恢复原始形状的维修焊缝已被证明非常有效，因为它们可以改善原始部分以外的材料特性，同时还可以减少环境影响。在这种方法中使用了两种主要技术，一种涉及层的沉积（例如激光覆层），另一种涉及3D结构（例如添加剂制造）的堆积。但是，由于每个部分都是独一无二的，因此进行此类维修的过程目前是劳动力的强度，并且需要进行3D扫描和编程的新过程，因此对于使技术在经济上对更多行业的经济可行性是必要的。该项目将开发新的技术和过程，以扫描，程序和焊接此类部分。该项目的复杂性源于零件定位，识别和量化受损部分以及使用3D点云数据信息以及基于材料行为的工具路径计划的零件定位，识别和量化。沉积过程中金属的内在特性导致了整个新沉积材料的材料转换和残余应力，这些材料需要进行彻底的研究，并且需要在工具路径计划中考虑。目标是创建具有行业4.0功能的自动化系统，该系统控制着维修过程参数。