Laser Powder Bed Fusion Device

• Subject Area: Materials Engineering
• Term: Funded in 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 446009280

The Laser Powder Bed Fusion system that was applied for as part of this initiative is supposed to be shared by two chairs of the University of Paderborn. First the chair for materials science under the direction of Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Mirko Schaper and secondly the chair of Automotive Lightweight Design under the direction of Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Thomas Tröster.The scientific focus of the Chair of Materials Science is the investigation of process-structure-property correlations for process chains for the production of metallic parts. Special emphasis is placed on processes with rapid solidification leading to non-equilibrium phases, such as strip casting or additive manufacturing.The chair of Automotive Lightweight Design examines different approaches for innovative solutions in automotive lightweight construction. The research focusses on lightweight construction concepts made of high-strength steels and lightweight construction materials, and above all their combination in hybrid construction.For many years, both chairs have been working intensively on various research projects in the field of additive manufacturing. Both chairs focus on topics such as the development of new high-strength alloys for additive manufacturing or alloys with special functional properties.On the one hand, the proposed device is intended to improve the currently limited access to AM machines. This is particularly important in view of the fact that in the future the development cycles will be drastically shortened due to the installation of the new powder tower. The waiting times for powder, which was modified on the basis of previous results, will decrease from several weeks to only a few days.On the other hand, the system is supposed to be integrated into a process chain in combination with a laser metal depositioning system and various systems for subtractive production. Furthermore, there is no possibility to extensively change the setup of the existing systems at present, for example by installing radiant heating. However, this is absolutely essential for various aspects of the planned research projects.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: Pulverbett-basierte selektive Laserschmelzanlage
• Instrumentation Group: 2110 Formen-, Modellherstellung und gießereitechnische Maschinen
• Applicant Institution: Universität Paderborn
• Leader: Professor Dr.-Ing. Mirko Schaper