Effects of the Selective Laser Melting manufacturing process on the properties of CoCrMo single tracks

Abstract

Selective Laser Melting (SLM) is an additive technology that produces solid parts by selectively melting thin layers of metallic powder. SLM can produce significant differences in the final properties due to the melting-consolidation phenomena of the process, which can be controlled by the appropriate parameters. Therefore, the objective of this study was to create a link between the process conditions and the resulting properties by experimenting in an own-developed SLM machine using CoCrMo powder as material. The fabricated samples were characterized by density, hardness and microstructural properties. The experimental results proved the capability of the SLM technique to build high dense samples. The hardness results gave evidence of a superior outcome compared to conventional processes. Finally, it was found that grain size was defined by scanning speed. Based on the results, a better understanding of the processing principles given by the parameters was achieved and improved fabrication quality was promoted.