System and method for ultrasonic additive manufacturing

A welding apparatus comprising:

• first and second guide rails each having an upper surface and a lower surface and a plurality of guide rail supports attachable to a surface of a welding target;
• a carriage movably mountable to the first and second guide rails for relative movement there-along;
• a feedstock source disposed within the carriage for selectively depositing a feedstock material on the surface of the welding target when the welding apparatus is in a welding configuration in which the first and second guide rails are attached to the welding target in a spaced apart arrangement parallel to one another and to a desired travel line and in which the carriage is attached to the first and second guide rails for movement there-along;
• an ultrasonic weld head attached to the carriage and having a sonotrode extendable toward the target surface between the first and second guide rails to operatively engage the deposited feedstock material when the welding apparatus is in the welding configuration, the sonotrode is aligned so as to conduct ultrasonic vibrations along a Z-axis normal to the welding target surface when the welding apparatus is in the welding configuration, and the first and second guide rails are parallel to an X-axis orthogonal to the Z-axis when the welding apparatus is in the welding configuration;
• third and fourth guide rails each having an upper surface and a lower surface and a plurality of guide rail supports attachable to the surface of the welding target, the third and fourth guide rails being parallel to a Y-axis orthogonal to the X-axis and the Z-axis and being connectable to the first and second guide rails to form a rectangular guide rail frame;
• and
• a rail follower assembly comprising
• a first slide beam having a first end movably attachable to the first guide rail for movement there-along and a second end movably attachable to the second guide rail for movement there-along, and
• a second slide beam having a first end movably attachable to the third guide rail for movement there-along and a second end movably attachable to the fourth guide rail for movement there-along,
• wherein the carriage housing comprises
• a first slide receiver through which the first slide beam is slidably disposable, and
• a second slide receiver through which the second slide beam is slidably disposable.