Effects of laser power and printing speed on the temperature field during selective laser melting of aluminum alloy

Abstract

Additive manufacturing (AM) has significantly transformed the manufacturing industry and found diverse applications. Selective laser melting (SLM), as a common and valuable rapid prototyping technology in AM, is also a very important technology. In SLM, temperature is a very important parameter, and parameters such as melting time and manufacturing speed are highly correlated with temperature. However, temperature is not easy to measure in real-time, and it is convenient to study the changes in temperature field through numerical simulation. This paper explores the quantitative impact of printing speed and laser power on the temperature field through simulation. The peak temperature decreases with increasing printing speed, but increases with increasing laser power. The high temperature affected area is mainly related to the printing speed and decreases as the printing speed increases. The relevant results can provide guidance and reference for the application of SLM engineering.