The project aim is to use microwave techniques to enhance heating processes in additive manufacturing.
We will investigate the use of microwave fields as an alternative heating source for additive manufacturing. We will study the types of microwave applicators that can be used and how a system could be designed to fit a commercial AM system. We will focus on the use of solid state sources for the generation of microwave power. We will consider the effects of exciting electric, magnetic, or mixed fields. We will study the properties of the resulting parts and how they change with heating regimes, also using microwave techniques. This could be extended to both metal and ceramic parts, considering methods for studying surface properties for metals, and both surface and bulk properties for ceramics.