Review on surface characteristics of components produced by direct metal deposition process

Abstract

Direct metal deposition is a metal additive manufacturing process that builds objects layer by layer. The surface properties of direct metal depositioncomponents are discussed in this study. The fluctuation of surface attributes such as roughness, finish, texture, and so on as a function of operation parameters has been investigated for a number of materials. This research assists in identifying the optimal process parameters for the material chosen, such as material feed rate, gas flow rate, and laser power, in order to generate the best surface characteristics. The results show that wire feed deposition surpasses powder feed deposition. The laser power and scanning speed of the laser were found to be the most influential process parameters. The study results reveal that the optimum process parameter combinations are material specific and is the keyfactor for obtaining better products with reduced surface roughness and waviness. The microstructural study also explores the material specfic effect in processs parameter combinations. This research could be used to determine or predict the best process parameters for a wide range of industrial materials.

Keywords

• additive manufacturing
• direct metal deposition
• surface characteristics
• surface roughness
• surface hardness