ANALYSIS OF THIN-WALLED COMPONENTS WITH INTERNAL MICROSTRUCTURE DESIGN MANUFACTURED BY LPBF

Abstract

Additive Manufacturing techniques represent a revolution for the design of certain engineering components traditionally subject to a design highly influenced by the manufacturing process linked to the manufacture of the component. Additive Manufacturing techniques therefore allow components with different internal and external structures to be manufactured. Thus, components formed by an internal microstructure are of special interest due to their high strength-to-weight and high stiffness-to-weight properties. This work investigates the hybrid fabrication of curved thin-walled Inconel 718 with internal microstructural supports fabricated by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF). The outer walls are made up of solid surfaces with a fixed curvature and thickness, while the internal structure of the pieces is made up of internal microstructures that vary at different angles of inclination. Finally, the outer surfaces of the piece have been milled. Eventually, the dimensional quality of the components and their internal microstructure has been analysed.