Effects of process parameters on microstructure properties of WE43 magnesium alloy by selective laser melting

Abstract

Magnesium alloys have broad application in aerospace, biomedicine and automobile, et al. Selective Laser Melting (SLM) additive manufacturing of magnesium alloy can fabricate complex components with acceptable properties. However, the low evaporation heat of magnesium alloy at ambient temperature leads to vaporization instead of melting during the SLM forming process, posing significant challenges for achieving successful SLM fabrication of magnesium alloys. Hence, the objective of this paper is to analyze the impact of various process parameters on the distribution of macroscopic defects and the relative density during SLM additive manufacturing test of WE43 magnesium alloy samples. Additionally, it investigates the effect of forming parameters on the microstructure by examining molten pool morphology, grain size, and material composition. Mechanical property tests are conducted to establish correlations between relative density, microhardness, strength, and energy density in printed samples. Consequently, optimal SLM manufacturing parameters for WE43 magnesium alloy are determined as follows: laser power 200 W and scanning speed 800 mm/s. This study successfully achieves high-performance additive manufacturing of magnesium alloy materials.