Recent solid freeform fabrication methods generate 3D solid objects by material deposition in successive layers made of adjacent beads. Besides numerical simulation, this article introduces an analytical model of such material addition, using superposition of unit deposition distributions, composed of elementary spherical primitives consistent with the mass transfer physics. This real-time surface geometry model, with its parameters identified by in-process profile measurements, is used for Smith-prediction of the material shape in the unobservable deposition region. The model offers the basis for a distributed-parameter geometry control scheme to obtain a desired surface topology, by modulating the feed and motion of a moving mass source. The model was experimentally tested on a fused wire deposition welding station, using optical sensing by a scanning laser stripe. Its applications to other rapid prototyping methods are discussed. [S0022-0434(00)02301-7]

Issue Section:
Technical Papers
Keywords:
manufacturing processes, control systems, surface topography, distributed parameter systems, welding, mass transfer
Topics:
Geometry, Manufacturing, Modeling, Mass transfer, Welding
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