Discrete element modeling of selective laser sintering additive manufacturing processes

Abstract

This work presents a simple methodology for the simulation of selective laser sintering processes in advanced manufacturing. Our approach is based on the Discrete Element Method (DEM) to represent the powder bed, combined with lumped heat transfer equations to describe the various thermal phenomena that may take place for thermo-mechanically-active particles forming discrete particle systems. Phase transformation, which may be critical in this type of application, is also considered. Numerical examples are provided to illustrate the practical use of the methodology.