Keynote Speakers
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Pathway to Establish Additive Manufacturing into Mainstream ProcessingProf. Patrick Kwon
Abstract
This presentation focuses on the strategic roadmap, overcoming current limitations, and the integration of additive manufacturing (AM) into large-scale industrial production. The key deficiencies of the currently available AM techniques will be discussed in addressing the speed and scale, automation and post-processing and hybrid manufacturing through the research conducted at Michigan State University (MSU) till 2024 and currently at San Diego State University (SDSU). The discussion starts with one of the older AM techniques, binder jet printing (BJP), to improve the attainable density by optimizing powder distribution and incorporating sintering additives. Building on this advancement, a novel technique called scalable and expeditious additive manufacturing (SEAM) has been developed to enhance the productivity. SEAM prints the mixture of metal powder and photopolymer using DLP projectors and, after printing is completed, the photopolymer holding the powder must be burnt out from the printed part while promoting the necking among the powder. Similar to BJP, the part is subsequently sintered in a vacuum furnace. Using Selective Laser melting (SLM), a unique functionality in shape memory alloys can be produced by manipulating the processing parameters such as laser power, speed, hatching speed and layer thickness. The processing conditions of electron beam melting (EBM) were optimized and concluded that the fatigue strength is consistent if the processing conditions are restricted to attain near full density. The subsequent HIPing conditions significantly impact the fatigue strength. At SDSU, two new approaches are being explored, (1) the utilization of modulated electricity to facilitate neck formation among powder particles, followed by sintering in an environment-controlled furnace and (2) the utilization of friction stir welding and burnishing of wire mesh/powder. This talk will also provide a comparative analysis of various additive manufacturing techniques, highlighting their respective advantages and limitations.
Biography
Prof. Kwon received his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) in 1983, MIT in 1985 and University of California (Berkeley) in 1994, respectively. He started as an assistant professor at Michigan State University (MSU) in 1996. Before his retirement from MSU, he served as Associate chair for graduate studies. After his retirement, he became the chair of mechanical engineering department at San Diego State University (SDSU) in 2024. He served as associate editor for ASME Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering and for International Journal of Precision Engineering and Manufacturing as well as a board member of NAMRI/SME. His research has made fundamental contributions in understanding tool wear mechanisms in machining and powder processing in metals and ceramics. Recently, he has worked on metallic additive manufacturing including improving Binder Jet Printing, Selective Laser Melting, and Electron Beam Melting and developed a new process called scalable and expeditious additive manufacturing (SEAM) while still working on machining research. |
