SEYI BABATOLA

Problem Statement

Metal parts created through Laser Engineered Net Shaping (LENS) for Northwestern’s Advanced Manufacturing Processes Lab (AMPL) undergo uneven heat buildup during the process. The temperature gradients within the part lead to undesirable features and a weaker part.

 

To solve this problem, we built a temperature controlled plate that integrated with the Advanced Manufacturing Processes Lab’s (AMPL) current setup of the Additive Rapid Prototyping Instrument (ARPI). The device uses multiple heaters and pumps to heat and cool the part and thermocouples to determine real time temperature of the plate. All the components are controlled by an Arduino and the temperature profile of the plate is outputted to a user interface. 

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