SLM/SLS (Selective Laser Melting/Selective Laser Sintering) is a process in which metal powder is fused by laser, creating new objects layer by layer.
Although SLM poses great benefits, these parts must be cleaned to for the safety and longevity of AM parts.
SLM printing leaves excess metal on the finished part due to the laser melting extra powder in the area. The debris can stop parts from working correctly. Cleaning methods such as sand blasting, brushes and ultrasonic cleaning currently clean the parts.
For this project, team 518 is developing an ultrasonic cleaning bath for SLM parts and presenting a method to measure the cleanliness of the parts. Team 518 chose ultrasonic cleaning because of the effectiveness of the cleaning and the automation possibilities.
This project is unique because of the ways used to fill the cleaning area and hold the cleaning solution. A chamber holds the cleaning fluid and pumps the cleaning solution to fill the bath. Common ultrasonic cleaning baths are open to air and filled by pouring the cleaning fluid: both techniques use gravity.
Challenges for this project include creating a way to pump the cleaning fluid to and from the chamber, creating the needed frequency to provide enough cleaning force, and creating an enclosure to host the device. Creating the cleaning device can lead to advancements in SLM printing and cleaning. This device also can clean in spaces where gravitational force isn't present.
Design will be able to clean 85-90% of debris
Modules will be 8" x 8" x 8" max length
Particles are contained with no leaks in the device
Operation will be safe and will not harm the user in any way.
Justin McElderry is a materials engineer at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. He currently works with PRIME (Powder Removal in Microgravity Environments) researching vaccum cyclic nucleation (VCN) techniques.
created with
Website Builder Software .