ME professor patents laser processing breakthroughs
A mechanical engineering professor’s research in laser-based manufacturing technologies — aimed at improving how materials are produced for industries such as aerospace, transportation, and automotive — has recently led to five newly issued or pending U.S. patents.
Over the past decade, Hongtao Ding, professor of mechanical engineering and researcher at the Iowa Technology Institute, has introduced several laser-based techniques designed to increase speed, efficiency, and flexibility in materials processing. The goal is to move technology from laboratory demonstrations to real-world application, he said.
“Laser technologies are uniquely positioned to shape the next generation of manufacturing,” Ding said. “Our goal is not only to invent new processes, but to develop methods that the world can actually use.”
10,000 times faster solution
The now-patented laser-based high-throughput surface nano-structuring (nHSN) method generates large-area superhydrophobic surfaces. Often referred to as “engineered dry skins,” they repel water and ice and offer the promise of transforming aerospace, automotive, and maritime systems.
A key achievement in this method is the speed at which it occurs – up to 10,000 times faster than conventional laser surface texturing techniques, according to the research team.
Avik Samanta, Ding’s former PhD student and now an assistant professor at the University of South Florida, led much of the research behind the discovery. Scott Shaw, a UI chemistry professor, helped uncover and explain the fundamental chemistry behind the process.
Turning moon dust into metal
The patent-pending laser-assisted synthesis from ore reduction (LASOR) is a hydrogen-fueled, laser-driven process that enables 3D printing of metal parts directly from ore powders.
“This represents a major breakthrough for green steel and a transformative idea for in situ resource utilization on the Moon or Mars, where raw ores are abundant and manufacturing tools must be compact, energy-efficient, and chemically versatile,” Ding said.
Patents
Three additional patents have been built off the laser processing platform:
- Maskless patterning of metal alloys is a process that allows engineers to control how liquids interact with large-area metal surfaces to create areas that either attract or repel water without using masks, lithography, or chemical coatings.
- Transparent conducting terahertz metamaterials may support future technologies in sensing, imaging, and security applications.
- Laser-enabled edge coating is a pending technology aimed at improving electric vehicle battery production through a laser process that could complete the battery component coating in a single step.