A Digital Twin for Residual Stress Control in a Directed Energy Deposition Process

Directed Energy Deposition (DED), similar to other additive manufacturing processes, offers lower heat input, thus less base metal distortion compared to traditional welding processes. A DED process is especially suitable for repair and the production of large parts. Thus residual stress is becoming critical for both repair and large part applications. Digital twin (DT) is a critical technology as it gives insights into many critical aspects of a manufacturing process. DT offers continuous improvement through sensor data from physical tests and data from the virtual models. Manufacturers may improve efficiency and cut costs with the use of data collected through DT technology. The manufacturing sector stands to gain a huge benefit from DTs by incorporating these technologies, which includes the possibility for higher efficiency, decreased costs, enhanced product quality, and accelerated time to market. Although the benefits of DTs are clear, their implementation still needs clarity along with other challenges, such as effective use of data from previous cases, timely decision-making, and complex systems. This presentation will outline the DT implementation strategy for residual stress control by using a powder-DED process as an example.