Analysis of the Machining Process of Inconel 718 Parts Manufactured by Laser Metal Deposition

Laser metal deposition (LMD) is an additive manufacturing process that allows the manufacturing of near-net-shape products. This could mean significant savings in terms of materials and costs in the manufacturing of high-performance components for the aeronautical industry. In this work, an analysis of how the LMD processing of alloy 718 affects the final machining has been carried out. For this purpose, a comparative study has been done by means of the monitoring of the end milling process of a part manufactured by LMD and a rough-milled part from forged material. Differences between process outputs such as chip morphology and cutting forces were studied. Material characteristics such as microstructure, hardness and mechanical properties were also analyzed.