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The PhD researcher will contribute in a large research project Hi-PAS ‘High-Precision Hybrid Laser-based Additive & Subtractive Manufacturing’ that is funded by the Flemish funding organization FWO (Research Foundation – Flanders). This project addresses the capabilities of a beyond state-of-the-art hybrid laser-based additive and subtractive manufacturing.

For one of the open positions, the MECH department (project coordinator) is looking for a PhD candidate to participate in the research on monitoring and closed-loop control of Direct Energy Deposition (DED), also known as Laser Metal Deposition (LMD), metal based additive manufacturing process. You will join a team of 10 persons (PhD’s, Post-doc researchers & professor) working on additive manufacturing and smart structures.

The candidate will be involved in the following aspects of the research within the HiPAS project:

• Modelling of the (thermal) behaviour of metals during a laser based 3D printing process.
• Performing experiments on state-of-the-art, in-house developed laser based metal 3D printing platforms at the MECH department of the VUB. Lead a parameter study to define the influence on the 3D printing process in cooperation with researchers from all project partners. The resulting geometrical (deposition) and material characteristics are to be identified and optimised.
• Validation of simulations and constructed models based on the performed experiments.
• Proof-of-concept implementation of novel real-time control of the deposition process.

Job content

The PhD researcher will contribute in a large research project Hi-PAS ‘High-Precision Hybrid Laser-based Additive & Subtractive Manufacturing’ that is funded by the Flemish funding organization FWO (Research Foundation – Flanders). This project addresses the capabilities of a beyond state-of-the-art hybrid laser-based additive and subtractive manufacturing.

Within this PhD research the candidate will develop a new measurement methodology for in-process dimensional and surface metrology for high precision 3D printed parts. This involves the integration of state-of-the-art measurement instruments in a unique in house developed hybrid CNC laser-based additive and subtractive manufacturing process. This research will be performed in a strong collaboration with the Op3Mech research group (from University of Antwerp) and the AM group (from KU Leuven).

The successful candidate will focus on the following tasks:

• You prepare a doctoral thesis on the use of optical measurement techniques for dimensional metrology during 3D printing of metallic components.
• Provide a review of existing and state-of-the-art literature on relevant topics.
• You are willing to contribute to the software and hardware implementation of the metrology solutions that you are investigating on the facility.
• In this PhD project there is a close collaboration foreseen with the University of Antwerp and the University of Leuven.
• You are willing to coach and assist engineering students during their thesis work.
• Prepare internal technical reports and external papers for international conferences and journal publications with respect to the research assignment that you are working on.

Job content

The PhD researcher will contribute in a large research project Hi-PAS ‘High-Precision Hybrid Laser-based Additive & Subtractive Manufacturing’ that is funded by the Flemish funding organization FWO (Research Foundation – Flanders). This project addresses the capabilities of a beyond state-of-the-art hybrid laser-based additive and subtractive manufacturing.

The department of Mechanical Engineering (AVRG research group), VUB (Prof. Dr. Ir. P. Guillaume) is the project coordinator. Other research partners are the department Chemical and Materials Engineering (SURF research group), VUB (Prof. Dr. Ir. Herman Terryn, Prof. Dr. Ir. Iris De Graeve), and our Department of Mechanics of Materials and Constructions (MeMC) (Prof. Dr. Ir. L. Pyl and Prof. D. Van Hemelrijck). The has two academic partners KULeuven and University of Antwerp and an industrial advisory board.

This PhD vacancy fits within the research conducted by the VUB-MeMC research group which will focus on aspects of non-invasive quantification of residual stress and quantification of fatigue strength. The candidate should have a strong background in materials (mechanics, numerical and experimental characterization).

Job content

For one of the open positions, the MECH department is looking for a PhD candidate to participate in the research on monitoring and closed-loop control of Direct Energy Deposition (DED), also known as Laser Metal Deposition (LMD), metal based additive manufacturing. You will join a team of 20 persons (PhD’s, Post-doc researchers & professors) working on additive manufacturing, smart structures, condition monitoring and machine learning.

The candidate will have to conduct the following tasks during the PhD duration of 4 years:
– Research the dynamic relations between the available in-process and post-process data from the vibration, thermal, optical and imaging datasets obtained from the in-house developed Additive Manufacturing platforms.
– Simulate the Additive Manufacturing process from a multiphysics perspective to validate and develop machine learning or artificial intelligence techniques for the laser based additive manufacturing environment.
– Apply machine learning & additive manufacturing algorithms to the available data for the identification and prediction of manufacturing defects during additive manufacturing.
– The final goal of the PhD is to obtain a set of experimentally validated tools to contribute to the quality insurance and reliability of the additive manufacturing process.