LAUSR

Abstract During the past few years, the need for functionally graded material (FGM) parts has surfaced with the development of material science and additive manufacturing techniques. The Direct Metal Deposition (DMD) process, a metal based additive manufacturing technique, can locally deposit dissimilar metal powders to produce FGM parts. Yet inappropriate mixing ratio of materials without considering the influence of dilution and overlapping effects among layers and tracks and the variation of material properties can result in inaccurate material composition in the fabricated parts when compared to the desired compositions. Within such a context, this paper proposes a design method that links the process parameters to the desired composition of the part based on mathematical models. The proposed scheme is illustrated through a case study of fabricating an iron-nickel FGM part with three-dimensional composition variation. Using the proposed method, the process parameters can be planned prior to the manufacturing process, and the material distribution deviation from the desired one can be reduced.