Apparatus and related methods for friction stir additive manufacturing repair of materials

A method for repairing a part having damage, the method comprising:

• scanning the part using a scanning process to generate a scanned model, wherein the scanned model indicates the damage to the part;
• comparing the scanned model to an original model of the part to indicate a region of interest on the part having the damage;
• identifying the region of interest on the part;
• placing the part in a deposition system having a spindle with a rotatable hollow shaft;
• exerting a pressure on a rod of metallic deposition material within the rotatable hollow shaft;
• determining at least one parameter for a friction stir additive manufacturing (FSAM) process using the deposition system, wherein the at least one parameter includes a rotational speed of the rotatable hollow shaft and a speed in a feed direction for the deposition system;
• determining a thickness of a layer of the metallic deposition material to be applied by the deposition system;
• rotating the rotatable hollow shaft at the rotational speed;
• moving the part having the region of interest in the feed direction at the speed;
• and
• applying at least one layer of the metallic deposition material at the determined thickness of the layer.

A system to repair a part, the system comprising:

• an inspection system configured to identify a region of interest of the part having damage;
• and
• a repair system having a deposition system, wherein the deposition system is configured to
• pre-heat the region of interest using a pre-heat system;
• position a rod of consumable metallic deposition material within a rotatable hollow shaft of the deposition system;
• exert pressure at an upper end of the rod to move the metallic deposition material into a deposition zone of the region of interest of the part;
• rotate the rotatable hollow shaft so as to rotate the rod while the pressure is being exerted to generate frictional heat when the rod contacts a surface of the part in the region of interest;
• and
• deposit at least one layer of the metallic deposition material at a thickness using the deposition system, wherein the deposition system rotates the rotatable shaft at a rotational speed and moves the part in a direction of a feed speed based on a function of the thickness of the at least one layer.