Cold gas dynamic manufacturing: A non-thermal approach to freeform fabrication

This paper reports on the development of a novel freeform fabrication technique using a cold spray (CS) system. In the CS process, metallic powder particles are accelerated in a supersonic gas jet and impacted with a substrate at speeds in excess of 600 m/s. The non-melting nature of its deposition mechanism ensures that the sprayed material is free from thermally induced tensile stresses, while the underlying substrate remains unchanged. The process is seen as a viable method for additive manufacturing because of its high deposition rates and controllable spray jet. A process was developed to investigate the potential of non-thermal freeform fabrication and was coined Cold Gas Dynamic Manufacturing (CGDM). Here, additive and subtractive techniques were combined to enable the production of complex geometries. Whereas most CS facilities concentrate on the application of wear or corrosion-resistant coatings, CGDM is dedicated to the production of freeform components, whilst still retaining an inherent coating ability. The process can produce functional forms using novel manufacturing strategies that are unique to CS. This paper presents information on the process, and details the various strategies employed during component fabrication. It was possible to construct components from many materials, including titanium, which exhibited freeform surfaces, internal channels and embedded devices. A breakdown of the process economics is also provided, with and without helium recycling. (C) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.