Page - 141 - in 3D Printing of Metals

Metals 2017,7, 113 Figure15.Testingoforiginalpartandpartwith local reinforcement. Figure16.Micrographofacrackthatoccurredinthecladdingduringplasticdeformation. (a)overview ofclad layer in theholearea; (b)Micrographthroughacrack. Figure17.Resultsofsuccessfulhole-flangingexperiments, (a) t=2mm,nocladding; (b) t=2.5mm, nocladding. (c) t=2.7mm,0.7mmcladding. 4.Discussion The resultsobtained in the twocase studieswill bediscussed regardinggeneralviability and applicabilityof lasercladdingtosheetmetalcomponents,aswellas regardingproductiontimeand materialefficiency: Generalviabilityandscopeofapplication.Twoapplicationscenarioswerestudiedwhichuse lasercladdingfor localreinforcementofsheetmetalcomponents, i.e., localcladdingofacomponentfor increasedstiffnessandlocalcladdingto increase thesheet thickness in thewallofaflangeproduced byholeflanging. Lasercladdingofanalreadymanufacturedcomponentopensupthepossibility touseadditive manufacturing for stiffnessmanagement, anewfieldof application. The challengehere isnot the claddingprocess of a suitablematerial but the reduction of distortion andaminimumchange in 141