Field feature detection and morphing-based process planning for fabrication of geometries and composition control for functionally graded materials

Abstract

The inherent limitation of most solid freeform fabrication (SFF) is deposition in the form of layers. The set-up rather than the geometry and the material composition of the part becomes more important in the process planning. For a functionally graded material (FGM), the desired composition variation is of infinitesimal order; however, the finite size of the deposition head and the molten pool allows for a quantized volume addition. Such artificial imposition of the process for the desired geometric morphology and the functional gradience of materials limit the accuracy of the part. The frequent variation in the material composition is yet another issue associated with the fabrication of FGMs. The suitability of a field can be attributed to the desired material distribution of a part. Different features of the field are identified and used as the input for process planning. The mathematical morphing of the material gradience allows a smooth variation of the material composition across the geometry of the part during deposition. The paper describes a framework for FGM representation using maxel, process planning, and implementation of the fabrication of geometries, and the control of the material composition. The experimental results for the suggested approach are described.