Direct laser deposition for tailored structure

In the context of Industry 4.0, interest is increasing towards Additive Manufacturing processes due to their several advantages. Among these, the Direct Laser Deposition (DLD) is an innovative technology for additive metal part fabrication, and it is currently demonstrating its ability to revolutionize the manufacturing industry. It is particularly interesting for industrial applications in terms of reduction of waste materials by starting with fewer feedstocks, reduction of machining time by only have material where it is needed but, above all, it is interesting to extend the life of parts. Indeed, with the DLD, it is possible to repair an item or coat parts via cladding, making it more wear-resistant. It is also possible to give "another life" to broken or waste components, for example, by replacing the damaged area using new material. Moreover, particularly intriguing is the possibility to create hybrid or graded parts by varying material/alloy concentrations. This paper aims to combine the abovementioned advantages to develop tailored structures in order to accomplish complex and functional products. For this purpose, a specific case study was investigated, starting with the study of the appropriate powders to use and ending with the printing process using the DMG Mori Lasertec65. Microstructural and mechanical analyses were carried out to evaluate the products and to validate the process. The final results show the properties and performances of products obtained using this technology.