Ultrafast AM of Novel Materials

The aim of the platform proposal is to discover, understand and enable industrial implementation of AM solutions to address the issues of productivity and industrial scalability, with the ambition being that this will strengthen the Centre for Additive Manufacturing (CfAM) http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/cfam/index.aspx engagement across the full value chain from discovery to deployment.

This Platform proposal is therefore centred on both addressing subjects of international importance, productivity and industrial scalability, alongside sustaining an international renowned research group. It enables the CfAM to renew its long term research vision, through the exploration and exploitation of new and emerging science, whilst maintaining a focus on overcoming the challenges associated with implementing AM into industry.

Project description:
‘Additive manufacturing (AM) methods have been proliferating over recent years to the point of industrial implementation. However, there is still a significant gap in both the quality and materials able to be processed by many of the different AM processes. This project serves to narrow these gaps by studying the potential of using ultrafast laser systems to deliver energy to particulate based materials. Using ultrafast laser pulses has been a key advance in the laser machining area and has resulted in a significant quality improvement in comparison to those based on continuous or nanosecond pulses, the use of such systems is beginning in the AM area through the attractive non-linear absorption effects in materials. This project will look at both the development of a femtosecond laser melting system and its effects on processing a range of materials starting ranging from metals and glasses to novel 2D materials i.e. reduction of graphene oxide to graphene.’