Grant: Research Tools and Instruments

Additive manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D printing, is a highly promising technology for rapid manufacturing that can fabricate parts without use of traditional tools. In this proposal, a proof-of-concept device will be developed to realize the additive manufacturing of ferromagnetic materials using levitated parts, i.e., free-form AM . The proposed research will be a conjunction research program between the Maglev Microrobotics, the Automated Laser Fabrication, and the Multi-scale Additive Manufacturing Laboratories to build a unique and innovative free-form AM on top of existing equipment items . There are a number of obstacles that must be overcome before the free-form AM technology is realized. In particular, the following will be addressed through the proposed research: a) initially levitate small part to function as the base of the AM process. The levitation has six degrees of freedom in translation and orientation; b) adaptive control of the levitated part to compensate for the change of part mass while the process is being executed; c) additive manufacturing of the final levitated part using a powder feed system. The quality of the process will be improved by a closed loop control system based on the feedback measurement of melt pool temperature and powder feed rate. The new platform will be equipped with an advanced Magnetic Drive Unit that can produce a sufficient magnetic field to realize six degrees of freedom levitation of the metallic part during the additive manufacturing process. Four high-speed CCD and thermal Cameras integrated with a real-time image processing system will determine the location of the magnetically levitated part, and the temperature of the melt pool. The proposed system is unique and introduces a new fabrication technology in AM. No such comprehensive system (free-form AM using magnetic levitation) exists anywhere in Canada, nor is any such system commercially available or under development . There is only a conceptual idea of a similar type patented by Boeing Inc. in America. The proposed AM system will produce research, patents, and licenses that will define the state-of-the-art in magnetic levitation and its application in AM. This equipment will service the needs of both system controls (mechatronics) and AM research, and faculty members and researchers from related disciplines will also benefit from access to it. The infrastructure developed in this program will be instrumental to the training of HQP (highly qualified personnel) with expertise in magnetic levitation, automation and control, systems design, AM technologies, and computer image processing. These skills are highly marketable in automotive, electronic, semiconductor, software, and manufacturing industries in Canada. In the relevant research programs, more than 15 post-doctoral fellows, PhD, and MASc students, as well as several undergraduate students will be trained .