Metal additive manufacturing (MAM) is disrupting the design, production, and supply chain of high-performance components in industries such as aerospace and medicine. Unfortunately, accessibility of MAM has eluded small and medium sized American manufacturers: high equipment and running costs, high energy consumption, and necessity for costly auxiliary and post processes have prevented viable business cases to be developed for them to reap the benefit of metal AM.
The Resonance Assisted Deposition (RAD) technique uses small mechanical oscillations and voxel compression to print metal 3-dimensional parts in solid-state at low temperatures. 3-dimensional objects formed this way have greater than 99.98% density as built and requires no post-fabrication processing. This process is accomplished in ambient conditions within office environments.
The RAE technique distinguishes itself from conventional processes such as Ultrasonic Additive Manufacturing, Bound-Metal Extrusion and Sintering, Binder jetting and sintering, or Laser powder Bed Fusion, in that the RAD technique is a near net-shape technique where machining is not necessary; and it’s energetic and cost efficiencies. As compared with state-of-the-art melt-fusion AM technologies, the RAD technique as a MAM technology promises significant savings in equipment capital and running costs, office equipment level safety and health risks, and appliance-level energy consumption.
In this presentation, overall technology introduction as well as discussions of distinguishing characteristics of RAD will be presented.
Learning Objectives:
- Upon completion, participants will be able to understand and describe the working principals of the new RAD technology.
- Upon completion, participants will be able to understand and describe the stand-out characteristics of RAD as compared with state-of-the-art metal AM technologies.
- Upon completion, participants will be able to list potential applications of this new technology and how they may benefit from it.
