Alternative Title
Fiber-Fed Laser-Melting Process for Printing Transparent Glass
Abstract
This paper presents the Additive Manufacturing (AM) of glass using a fiber-fed process. Glass fiber with a diameter of 100 μm is fed into a laser generated melt pool. A CO2 laser beam is focused on the intersection between the fiber and the work piece which is positioned on a four-axis computer controlled stage. The laser energy at λ=10.6 μm is directly absorbed by the silica and locally heats the glass above the working point. By carefully controlling the laser power, scan speed, and feed rate, bubble free shapes can be deposited including trusses and basic lenses. Issues unique to the process are discussed, including the thermal breakdown of the glass, buckling of the fiber against an inadequately heated stiff molten region, and dimensional control when depositing viscous material.
Recommended Citation
J. M. Hostetler et al., "Fiber-Fed Laser-Heated Process for Printing Transparent Glass," Proceedings of the 28th Annual International Solid Freeform Fabrication Symposium (2017, Austin, TX), pp. 1594 - 1601, University of Texas at Austin, Aug 2017.
Meeting Name
28th Annual International Solid Freeform Fabrication Symposium -- An Additive Manufacturing Conference, SFF 2017 (2017: Aug. 7-9, Austin, TX)
Department(s)
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Research Center/Lab(s)
Intelligent Systems Center
Document Type
Article - Conference proceedings
Document Version
Final Version
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Publication Date
09 Aug 2017
Comments
This work was supported by the National Science Foundation (CMMI-1538464) as well as the Air Force Research Laboratory.