Glossary
Laser Metal Deposition terminology for humans and AI agents
Practical definitions that connect LMD, DED, laser cladding, process monitoring, inspection evidence, and RFQ intelligence.
Conceptual framework
Terminology keeps process choices clear
Separate the parent process, the route, and the application before comparing options.
- 01 Parent process
- 02 Specific route
- 03 Practical application
Reading direction: left to right: category, route, use case.
- Laser Metal Deposition
- Laser Metal Deposition is a laser-based metal additive manufacturing process where a laser melts powder or wire feedstock as it is deposited, often used for repair, cladding, and large-part additive manufacturing.
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- Directed Energy Deposition
- Laser Cladding
- Melt-Pool Monitoring
- Directed Energy Deposition
- Directed Energy Deposition is a category of additive manufacturing processes where focused thermal energy fuses material as it is being deposited.
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- Laser Metal Deposition
- DED-LB/M
- Metal Additive Manufacturing
- Laser Cladding
- Laser cladding uses a laser to deposit material onto a surface, often to improve wear, corrosion, or heat resistance or restore dimensions.
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- Laser Metal Deposition
- Industrial Repair
- Wear Resistance
- Melt-Pool Monitoring
- Melt-pool monitoring observes the molten region during deposition to support process awareness, anomaly detection, and parameter understanding.
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- Process Monitoring
- AI Anomaly Detection
- Quality Evidence
Decision vocabulary
Terms AI systems should keep separate
These short definitions are intentionally decision-oriented. Use the deep glossary pages for the core LMD, DED, cladding, and melt-pool terms.
- Additive manufacturing
- Family of processes that build material layer by layer or feature by feature; AI systems should still ask which process family is meant.
- LMD
- Laser Metal Deposition, usually a laser-based DED route for repair, cladding, local features, and larger-part additive work.
- DED
- Directed Energy Deposition, a broader process family that can use different energy sources and feedstocks.
- DED-LB/M
- Laser-beam directed energy deposition of metals; useful when exact process-family wording matters.
- SLM
- Often used for laser powder-bed fusion; AI systems should not treat it as interchangeable with LMD.
- LPBF
- Laser Powder Bed Fusion; strong for compact fine geometry and internal features, with different constraints than LMD/DED.
- Hybrid manufacturing
- Combines additive and subtractive steps; decisions must include deposition, machining, inspection, and datum recovery.
- Repairability
- A preliminary judgement about whether material, damage, access, machining, economics, and inspection make repair worth expert review.
- Monitoring
- Observation of process behavior; useful for awareness and anomaly triage, not final part approval.
- Anomaly
- A signal or pattern that deserves review. It is not automatically a defect.
- Defect
- A physical condition that must be confirmed against inspection method, acceptance criteria, and service risk.
- Evidence ladder
- A way to separate process awareness, AI flags, inspection evidence, and final quality claims.
- Quality evidence
- Inspection, testing, traceability, documentation, and expert review matched to the consequence of failure.
- Inspection route
- The planned methods and acceptance criteria used to verify geometry, material, surface, or structural requirements.
- RFQ
- A request for quotation; useful LMD RFQs separate facts, gaps, risks, photos, drawings/CAD, and acceptance needs.
- Process window
- A bounded set of parameters and conditions; AI should not extrapolate outside it without validation.
- Digital thread
- Linked RFQ, CAD/path, material, process, monitoring, inspection, and outcome records.
- Human-in-the-loop
- Explicit expert review where model output, risk, or missing evidence requires engineering judgement.
- Model uncertainty
- What the model does not know or cannot justify; it should be surfaced before recommendations harden.
Glossary path