Design of Residual-Stress-Compensating Molds for Cold Spray Additive Manufacturing Applications

A methodical procedure for designing molds for cold spray additive manufacturing has been developed and validated. In a preliminary trial, a cold-sprayed part was shown to deform beyond the spatial tolerances of its defined shape. Based on these data and utilizing a linear elastic model of deformation, a new “compensated” mold with a modified shape was generated. The shape of the part deposited onto the compensated mold was measured to have, at maximum, approximately half the error as in the original trial, demonstrating the potential of such mold compensation as a means of achieving the final dimensional accuracy requirements of cold-sprayed parts.