Omnidirectional Laser Metal Deposition with Wire for Six Feet and Larger Aerostructures

Conference Abstract: In 2022 GKN Aerospace show cased its laser metal deposition with wire (LMD-w) technology by producing an 8 foot long 1.5 feet wide titanium aerostructure demonstrator with Northrop Grumman. The process is omnidirectional accommodating a wide variety of features without redeveloping parameters which significantly reduces development of new products while benefiting from AM's low buy to fly. To further pursue large structural applications, the process has been scaled up further. To meet the demand of the largest aerostructure components typically seen in industry, GKN Aerospace has recently introduced a new LMD-w cell with a build envelope of 17 x 7 x 1.5 feet. Deposition of titanium aerostructures of this size requires high quality adaptive closed loop controls, process monitoring, and robust toolpathing strategies to ensure manageable distortion and thermal history. This presentation will discuss GKN's novel approach to these challenges and the resulting mechanical properties.