Acoustic manipulation for metal additive manufacturing powder sorting

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Acoustic Physics
• Additive Manufacturing

Background:

• Additive manufacturing (AM) is vital for aerospace, energy, and automotive sectors.
• Powder utilization efficiency and material costs hinder AM development.
• Effective separation and sorting of metal powders are critical for AM.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a phased array acoustic tweezer system for separating and sorting metal powders.
• To investigate the capabilities of acoustic manipulation for micro-powder processing.
• To pioneer a novel method for enhancing metal additive manufacturing feedstock.

Main Methods:

• Utilized phased array acoustic tweezers for particle manipulation.
• Employed the finite element method to analyze acoustic fields and forces.
• Experimentally demonstrated particle trajectory alteration and separation of mixed powders.

Main Results:

• Phased array acoustic tweezers successfully altered particle trajectories.
• Achieved separation of mixed metal powders based on size and density differences.
• Demonstrated the effectiveness of acoustic manipulation independent of magnetic or electric properties.

Conclusions:

• Phased array acoustic tweezers offer a novel and efficient method for separating and sorting micro-sized metal powders.
• This technology can improve powder utilization efficiency and reduce material costs in additive manufacturing.
• The acoustic manipulation platform provides a new avenue for feedstock preparation in advanced manufacturing.