Additive manufacturing (3D printing) can be a cost-effective way of producing parts, especially when making use of the design freedoms the manufacturing process enables, such as topological complexity and the ability to print assemblies in one step.

Metal additive manufacturing is used to produce parts for aerospace, automotive, medical, and other industries. These are high-value parts that require careful design and manufacturing, and simulation has long been used to validate the as-built part performance. But the additive process for metals introduces inherent complexities and challenges such that the process itself requires simulation to successfully produce the parts.

Directed Energy Deposition Processes

In a directed energy process (DED) — also known as laser engineered net shaping (LENS), electron beam additive manufacturing (EBAM®), wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM), or laser deposition technology (LDT) — a laser or electron beam creates a melt pool on previously solidified material where blown powder or fed wire is introduced to add material.

Similar to a powder bed fusion (PBF) process, the DED process produces high temperatures and severe thermal gradients, leading to significant overheating, distortion, and buildup of residual stresses as the layers are deposited. The distortion can be high enough to interfere with the application of the next layer, and the residual stresses high enough to break the part off the build plate or crack the part itself. Additionally, the residual stresses will produce more distortion when the part is removed from the build plate leading to an undesirable final shape.