Procedure Qualification Scheme Portfolio for Metal Directed Energy Deposition Additive Manufacturing

Standard requirements for directed energy deposition (DED) additive manufacturing (AM) of parts were needed for a new NAVSEA Technical Publication. DED procedure qualification schemes were developed for integrated and non-integrated build platforms and for both single-sided and double-sided build applications. A double-sided build platform approach is widely preferred for distortion control and build productivity. These procedure qualification requirements were developed for arc, laser, and electron beam welding-based DED processes using wire or powder consumables. Each procedure qualification scheme included a standard qualification build (SQB) design, nondestructive evaluation test map, property specimen test matrix and qualification records for each application and process combination. Since these metal AM processes cover a range of feature size capabilities that are defined by minimum deposit bead width, SQBs were designed for full-scale (~> 5 mm), sub-scale (~2 – 5 mm) and mini-scale (< 2 mm) deposit width features. As a result, there are nine baseline SQB designs that include different combinations of specimens depending on the material, scale and application. In addition, each SQB evaluated the effects of thickness using thin (single pass wide wall) and thick (multi-pass wide block) features to extract property specimens in different directions and scales. These DED procedure qualification schemes should be considered by Army compliance organizations to harmonize requirements across the Department of Defense (DOD) and reduce manufacturing qualification and certification process costs of supply chains.

Citation: D.D. Harwig, W. Mohr, N. Kapustka, J. Hay, M. Carney, S. Hovanec, E. Handler, J. Farren, J. Rettaliata, and R. Hayleck, “Procedure Qualification Scheme Portfolio for Metal Directed Energy Deposition Additive Manufacturing”, In Proceedings of the Ground Vehicle Systems Engineering and Technology Symposium (GVSETS), NDIA, Novi, MI, Aug. 10-13, 2021.