Abstract

Vibration has been used in different manufacturing processes such as casting, welding, and machining to reduce residual stress, gas porosity, and hot cracking, as well as to refine microstructure and improve strength. Vibration has likewise been coupled with additive manufacturing processes such as directed energy deposition and powder bed fusion to improve grain structure and mechanical properties. The molten metal jetting (MMJ) process, which ejects molten metal to 3d print metal parts, typically has a porosity of about 1%, which can increase further as the print bed temperature gets lower. The primary reasons behind this porosity are gas porosity and poor droplet spreading which leads to voids between adjacent droplets. This research investigates the impact of substrate vibration on molten metal jetted parts. Vibration has the potential to increase droplet spread and reduce deposited material porosity. To achieve this, a piezoelectric actuator-based vibration setup has been developed. The setup is capable of generating vibration up to a frequency of 2000 Hz and displacement up to 20 μm. Results show that the application of vibration can reduce porosity, and can produce a marginal increase in microhardness level. The impact of vibration at different frequencies, displacements, and print parameters has been studied. Successful application of vibration during the MMJ process can allow printing at relatively lower print bed temperatures while providing increased density and mechanical properties.

Publication Date

5-2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Student Type

Graduate

Degree Name

Mechanical and Industrial Engineering (Ph.D)

Department, Program, or Center

Industrial and Systems Engineering

College

Kate Gleason College of Engineering

Advisor

Denis Cormier

Advisor/Committee Member

Rui Liu

Advisor/Committee Member

David Trauernicht

Campus

RIT – Main Campus

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