Abstract
Selective laser melting (SLM) is one of the most well-known additive manufacturing methods available for the fabrication of functional parts from metal powders. Although SLM is now an established metal additive manufacturing technique, its widespread application in industry is still hindered by inherent phenomena, one of which is high residual stresses. Some of the effects of residual stresses–such as warping and thermal stress-related cracking–cannot be corrected by post processing. Therefore, establishing input process parameter combinations that result in the least residual stress magnitudes and related distortions and/or cracking is critical. This paper presents the influence of laser power, scanning speed, and layer thickness on residual stresses, distortions and achievable density for maraging steel 300 steel parts in order to establish the most optimum input parameter combinations. An analysis of the interdependence between process outcomes shows that high residual stress magnitudes lead to high dimensional distortions in the finished parts, whilst porous parts suffer relatively lower residual stresses and associated distortions.
Highlights
Selective laser melting (SLM) is a layer-wise additive manufacturing process in which a high-energy laser beam is used to selectively melt a thin layer of metal powder according to an input CAD model.SLM has recorded immense progress with regard to manufacturing capabilities for complex geometries, thin walls and minute geometric features
An experimental study was conducted to understand the influence of process parameters–that is laser power, scanning speed, and layer thickness–as these have been identified to have a critical effect on the values of residual stresses [18,19]
A full factorial design of experiments was used to investigate the influence of laser power, scanning speed, and layer thickness on porosity, residual stresses, and distortions
Summary
SLM has recorded immense progress with regard to manufacturing capabilities for complex geometries, thin walls and minute geometric features. Despite this progress, inherent process challenges persist, and these should be overcome in order to increase the commercial uptake of the technology. Residual stresses pose a major setback to the success of SLM. These stresses remain in a component once the material has come to equilibrium with the environment [1]. These stresses can be classified as micro and macro residual stresses. Macro stresses extend over ranges that are much larger compared to the grain size [2,3]
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