From speaking to researchers in metal 3D printing, it’s clear that innovation is driven by perfection. No matter what the application, from大型飞机组件到lightweight turbine blades，，，，the goal is to 3D print a flawless piece of metalwork.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in California, has been a key driver of such developments, publishing洞悉“飞溅”现象of metal particles under the laser. By employing high-speed imaging techniques and x-rays, scientists and engineers are now capable of monitoring the melt process in real time – an invaluable asset to a system’s control.
在SLAC国家加速器实验室Stanford University，LLNL正在与爱荷华州的Ames实验室合作，以完善Directed Energy Deposition(DED). Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the labs are effectively developing a recipe for metal 3D printing processes that can be transferred to manufacturers and engineers.
The pursuit of a flawless process
在SLAC，这些团队正在使用斯坦福同步辐射光线（SSRL）进行DED Metal 3D打印机内部行为的高速X射线实验。在同步加速器中，X射线或光在大型建筑环（例如强子胶体但较小）中循环几乎光速。
视频显示了斯坦福同步辐射光线（SSRL）的X射线室内的DED金属3D打印实验。剪辑通过slacNational Accelerator Laboratory在YouTube上
There are two types of x-rays in use on the project. The first studies the formation of layers at a micron level. The second analyzes how particles change from solid to liquid and back again under the laser’s path.
Gathering invaluable data
All aspects of the process are taken into consideration in the project, from the kind of metal used, to the heat rate of the laser. The data collected will be invaluable to engineers and manufacturers seeking repeatability of their processes.
SSRL材料科学的科学家Chris Tassone，SSRLexplains，，，，“We are providing the fundamental physics research that will help us identify which aspects of metal 3D printing are important.”
Dawn Harmer摄影，标题为SLAC
In the next steps, the researchers hope to employ high-speed imaging cameras, like thosepreviously used by LLNL，，，，到give a clearer image of DED build-chamber behaviour.
约翰娜·尼尔森·韦克（Johanna Nelson Weker），，，，fellow staff scientist in the Material Science Division at SSRL adds “We want people to be able to connect what they see on their cameras with what we are measuring here so they can infer what’s happening below the surface of the growing metal material. We want to put meaning to those signatures.”
LLNL，SLAC和AMES是否值得认可其增材制造研究？现在在2018年3D印刷行业奖中提名他们。
进行更多行业领先的研究subscribe to the most widely read newsletter in the industry here，，，，像Facebook上的3D印刷行业和follow us on Twitter。
特色图像显示了SLAC，LLNL和AMES徽标DED样本。Johanna Nelson Weker/SLAC摄
