Thermal Spray Shape Deposition

Abstract

This paper describes a new spray-forming process based on thermal spray shape deposition. Shape deposition processes build three-dimensional shapes by incremental material buildup of thin, planar crosssectional layers. These processes do not require preformed mandrels and can directly build three-dimensional structures of arbitrary geometric complexity. The basis for the thermal spray approach is to spray each layer using a disposable mask that has the shape of the current cross section. Masks can be produced from paper rolls, for example, with a CO2 laser. In addition to applications for rapid prototyping, this approach makes possible the fabrication of composite structures and integrated electronic/mechanical assemblies that are not feasible with conventional manufacturing technologies.