Defect detection in laser powder deposition components by laser thermography and laser ultrasonic inspections

Laser Powder Deposition (LDP) techniques are being adopted within aerospace and automotive manufacturing to produce innovative precision components. Non-destructive techniques (NDT) for detecting and quantifying flaws within these components enables performance and acceptance criteria to be verified, improving product safety and reducing ongoing maintenance and product repair costs. In this work, software enabled techniques are presented for in-process analysis of NDT laser ultrasonic signals and pulsed laser thermography images of sequential metallic LPD layers. LPD tracks can be as thin as 200μm while deposited at a rate of 500 mm/min, requiring ultrafast inspection and processing times. …