Software supports and E-manufacturing for DMT process

The working principle of the laser-aided direct metal tooling(DMT) process is the use of a laser to selectively clad metallic powder on the substrate material part. A high-powered laser beam is focused on a metal substrate to create a molten weld pool; as the laser passes by the deposit is quickly cooled, leaving behind a thin line of metal clad. The major advantage of the DMT process is its capability of depositing a multitude of materials. Since the material deposition relies only on the feeding of a powder, it is relatively simple to use multiple kinds of materials. In fact, recent research has shown that DMT is capable of manufacturing binary functionally graded materials as well. The study is to develop a software support tool, visual simulation technique, as one of the e-manufacturing capability established for a unique DMT process.