The Problems Addressed
Metal Additive Manufacturing (MAM) is a rapidly growing technology, with Direct Energy Deposition (DED) being one of its key processes. While highly efficient, DED presents a significant challenge: it often causes distortion or deformation in the final component. This distortion occurs due to the rapid heating and cooling cycles with each material layer, leading to thermal discontinuities and shape changes. Such distortions can affect the precision and quality of the product, becoming a major barrier to the technology’s adoption in industry. This research aims to analyze this distortion behavior through an accurate numerical computation method.
What Was Done and Found
This research utilized Simufact Welding software to simulate the DED process, where 10 layers of Inconel 718 material were deposited onto an SS316 stainless steel substrate. The simulation was designed to mimic real-world conditions, allowing us to observe and analyze the resulting deformation in detail. The simulation results showed that the level of distortion increased with the number of deposited layers. This distortion was primarily observed at the edges of the component in a concave shape, with a maximum deformation of 2 mm at the top edge. This finding confirms that the accumulation of residual stress from thermal contraction is the main cause, most significantly affecting the cooler, upper side of the substrate.
Impact and Significance
This study successfully demonstrates that numerical computation is a highly effective tool for predicting and understanding distortion behavior in the additive manufacturing process, without the need for costly and time-consuming physical experiments. With the ability to predict where and how much distortion will occur, manufacturers can devise strategies to optimize processes, reduce defects, and improve the quality of the final product, ensuring precise dimensions. This research provides insights and method validation that can help enhance the reliability and accelerate the adoption of metal additive manufacturing technology across various industries.
Citation and Link to Original Source
For technical details and complete data, please read our official publication:
Abd Rahman, A. R., Muhammad, N. A., Mat, M. F., Manurung, Y. H. P., Adenan, M. S., Busari, Y. O., Prajadhiana, K. P., Ginta, T. L., & Triyono. (2025). Distortion Behaviour Analysis of Additively Manufactured Inconel 718 using Numerical Computation. Journal of Mechanical Engineering, 22(1), 79-89. https://doi.org/10.24191/jmeche.v22i1.2801
