Analysis of the quality of slope surface in selective laser melting process by simulation and experiments

Abstract

Slope surface is unavoidable and has an important effect on the quality of final fabricated product in the selective laser melting (SLM) process. In this paper, finite element simulation and experimental research on the effect of slope surface with different oblique angles are performed. In the finite element model, the difference in thermal physical properties between the fabricated part and powder material are taken into account. The temperature distribution, melt pool shape, slope surface morphology, roughness and dimensional accuracy are investigated. It shows that the melt pool depth and length are significantly influenced by the oblique angle and the tail of melt pool trends to one side as the oblique angle becomes small. The quality of slope surface increases and the dimensional deviation decreases with the increasing oblique angle. Based on the results, large oblique angle is recommended when designing part, and rotation in the vertical direction is prompted for obtaining large oblique angle when fabricating product. In addition, large dimension compensation and intensified post processing are suggested for slope surface with small oblique angle.