Conformal Slicing for Metal Repair Applications

· 5 Axis Slicer Team

Repairing worn or damaged metal parts with directed energy deposition (DED) requires toolpaths that follow the existing surface geometry exactly. Standard flat-layer slicing doesn’t work — the layers need to conform to whatever shape remains.

The Challenge

When repairing a turbine blade, a worn die, or a damaged structural component, the surface you’re building on isn’t flat. It’s curved, irregular, and unique to each part.

Traditional slicers force you to:

  1. Approximate the surface with flat layers (poor adhesion, visible steps)
  2. Manually create toolpaths in CAM software (time-consuming, error-prone)
  3. Use expensive proprietary repair software (vendor lock-in, limited flexibility)

Conformal Slicing Solves This

Our conformal slicing mode generates layers that follow the existing surface geometry:

  • Scan the damaged surface — import the as-built geometry
  • Define the target shape — what the part should look like after repair
  • Generate conformal layers — toolpaths that follow the surface, building up material in conforming layers

The result: better adhesion, smoother transitions, and toolpaths that respect the metallurgical requirements of the deposition process.

Supported Processes

Conformal slicing works with:

  • Laser DED (powder and wire feed)
  • Plasma transferred arc (PTA)
  • Wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM)
  • Cold spray

Each process has different requirements for layer height, overlap, and deposition strategy — all configurable in the slicer.