Integrated numerical modelling and deep learning for multi-layer cube deposition planning in laser aided additive manufacturing

Abstract

Heat accumulation is a critical problem in continuous multi-layer laser aided additive manufacturing (LAAM) process, resulting in inhomogeneous mechanical properties and non-uniformity in the deposited height which can deteriorate the deposition process. This work presents a new integrated finite element (FE) simulation and machine learning approach to select a multi-layer laser infill toolpath planning strategy for fabricating quadrilateral parts to minimise localised heat accumulation during the deposition process. After one layer deposition simulation, the approach employs a Temperature-Pattern Recurrent Neural Networks (TP-RNN) model to predict the temperature field after the next layer deposition for each of the candidate infill toolpaths, and a process parameters inspired thermal field evaluation method to select the best candidate toolpath. The approach would significantly improve the computational efficiency of the laser infill toolpath planning, which was validated by improving the flatness of the 20-layer cube deposition samples with two dimensions (20 mm × 20 mm and 30 mm × 30 mm).

Keywords

• laser aided additive manufacturing
• multi-layer deposition
• thermal analyses
• recurrent neural networks
• toolpath planning