The metal 3D printers used by U of T Engineering Professor Yu Zou and his team are designed to specialize in both selective laser melting and directed energy deposition - two essential metal additive manufacturing techniques
The metal 3D printers used by U of T Engineering Professor Yu Zou and his team are designed to specialize in both selective laser melting and directed energy deposition - two essential metal additive manufacturing techniques A team of University of Toronto researchers, led by Professor Yu Zou in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, is working to advance the field of metal additive manufacturing at the university's first metal 3D printing laboratory. The technology, which uses computer-aided design (CAD) to construct materials layer by layer, can improve manufacturing across aerospace, biomedical, energy and automotive industries. "We are working to uncover the fundamental physics behind the additive manufacturing process, as well as improving its robustness and creating novel structural and functional materials through its applications," says Zou, an assistant professor in the department of materials science and engineering. Unlike traditional manufacturing, in which parts or components are made from bulk materials, the metal 3D printing process enables microstructure and materials constitutions to be locally tailored, meaning they can exhibit distinct properties. "For example, medical implants require human bone-like materials that are dense and hard on the outside, but porous on the inside," says Xiao Shang, a PhD candidate in Zou's lab. "With traditional manufacturing, that's really hard to accomplish - but metal printing gives you a lot more control and customized products." Subtractive manufacturing techniques generally involves removing material in order to achieve a desired end product.
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