Products

AM Tools addresses the challenge of simplifying coupling of disparate length and time scales. The goal was to reduce extensive computational effort while taking the complexities of metal additive manufacturing into account.

The code evolved in a modular manner. For example, a module dedicated to melt pool scale was created providing information about melt pool dimensions (melting module) and the temperatures in the vicinity of the melt pool (simple thermal module). In comparison to CFD-based models, these models run within minutes on single core machines. They can be therefore embedded into more complex solutions aimed at optimizing part orientation or process parameters. 

One can use each module separately or use the combination of modules to consider competing phenomena at once.

The compute model reflects the modular structure of the solvers: A master json file references other json files, each dedicated to a certain aspect of the process (e.g. process_parameters.json, feedstock.json …etc.). The physical inputs, which should be self-explanatory to AM engineers are complimented with numerical inputs dedicated to controlling solvers’ behavior. The numerical input has been analyzed extensively, and suitable defaults are provided to ensure efficient and accurate numerical solutions. Nevertheless, for those interested in studying solver behavior, numerical inputs are also provided via dedicated json files referenced by the master.json file (e.g. melting_solver.json).

Processes supported are laser-based powder bed fusion (L-PBF), powder direct energy deposition (P-DED) and wire arc additive manufacturing (W-DED). Depending on the process to be used, different options are activated automatically.