Mechanical design for advancing small-scale solid state additive manufacturing to enable deposition of commercial metal alloys

Additive Friction Stir Deposition (AFSD) is an advanced manufacturing process that creates or repairs parts without melting the material. This research focuses on developing a small-scale version of AFSD, including new machine designs and tools for handling miniaturized materials. The study demonstrates successful deposition of high-strength alloys, like marten-sitic steel and aluminum, addressing challenges such as material buckling, heating, and tool stability. Key achievements include optimizing process parameters for multi-track and multi-layer printing, enabling printing under extreme conditions like underwater, and creating a new tool design for high-strength aluminum alloy 7050, achieving strong, high-quality deposits. This research also led to the development of a next-generation AFSD system, solving issues re-lated to material processing and modular integration. The successful implementation of this system lays the foundation for future advancements in small-scale metal additive manufactur-ing and on-site repair technologies, offering potential applications in industries like aerospace and marine engineering.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Mechanical Engineering

Department dc:contributor.department

Mechanical Engineering

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Remmert, Max Peter

Chairs dc:contributor.committeechair

• Yu, Hang
• Asbeck, Alan Thomas

Committee member dc:contributor.committeemember

• Williams, Christopher Bryant

• Solid-State Additive Manufacturing
• Metal Printing
• Mechanical Design
• Miniaturization
• Underwater Repair
• AA7050

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Dc Identifier Other

vt_gsexam:43824

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/135099