Net shaping via aluminium foaming

Abstract

The marriage between net shaping and aluminium alloy foaming has given a new dimension to the rapid prototyping technique for manufacturing of the lightweight structure in the automotive and aerospace industries. The present paper is focused on laser-assisted aluminium foaming from a foamable precursor material and its possible applications in net shaping of three-dimensional structures. Preliminary results suggest that a pore size gradient and a density gradient exist in the structure as the processing condition changes. The foam has large pores and lower density for slow processing speed, in contrast with the fast processing speed with small pore size but higher density. For pilot-scale production of the foamed plates, sandwiches panel and localized foamed structure, specially intended for heat exchanger in the electronic industries, the laser foaming technique may be the most appropriate.