MATTERWAVE
Phonon-assisted LPBF, controlled layer by layer
Daedalus is a retrofit for production laser powder-bed fusion systems. It couples controlled phonon energy into the build, synchronized to each layer, and closes the loop with in-situ sensing — turning a printer into an instrument for engineering microstructure.
Energy in the melt pool, wave by wave
As the laser scans each layer, transducers drive acoustic energy up through the build plate and the solidifying part. The pressure field and cavitation disrupt directional grain growth exactly where and when the metal freezes.
- —Phonon drive is layer-synchronized to the scan strategy, timed to each layer as it melts.
- —In-situ sensing tracks the acoustic state of the bed so the system knows what actually coupled in.
- —It is a retrofit — the machine, feedstock and parameters your process already trusts.
Start from the property. Solve for the vibration.
Daedalus does something more precise than vibrating the printer. Given a target material and the mechanical properties you need, the platform inverts the physics — computing the phonon profile required, per build layer, to drive the microstructure toward that target. The transfer function from acoustic input to grain structure is the asset we're building.
A measurable, physically grounded system
Every stage of the process is sensed, logged and traceable. That's what makes the output qualifiable rather than anecdotal.
Layer-synchronized drive
Phonon actuation timed to the scan, so energy lands with the melt.
In-situ sensing
Real-time feedback on the acoustic state of the powder bed.
Closed-loop control
Measured coupling feeds back into the drive, layer over layer.
Traceable data
Correlated to microstructure with EBSD, micrography and mechanical test.
One physics platform, a widening set of alloys
We prove the transfer function on a well-understood steel first, then extend it to alloy systems where microstructure control is worth the most.
PH stainless steel
A widely-qualified precipitation-hardening stainless — our initial target system.
Broader Fe alloys
Tool and structural steels where fatigue and isotropy carry qualification.
Ni superalloys
Hot-section aerospace alloys with notoriously difficult as-built structure.
Reactive alloys
Titanium and beyond — where nucleation control cuts crack susceptibility and makes hard-to-print alloys viable.
Bring us your alloy and your requirements.
We'll show you the physics, the hardware, and the data behind it.