Energy performance evaluation of selective laser melting

Abstract

Selective Laser Melting (SLM) is an additive manufacturing (AM) process in which a laser beam scans a selective area of a powder bed to create layers and generate components. SLM is considered to have sustainable benefits against conventional manufacturing, while current studies also point out that these benefits are only case-specific. Therefore, understanding the mechanism behind the material and energy-consuming behavior of SLM is an emerging research issue. This study focuses on three questions related to the energy performance of SLM. First, this research has compared the energy demand for processing approximately one cm³ of steel and examined the energy use of different system components. Second, considering that lightweight is the most common design approach to improve the sustainable benefits of SLM, this research has analyzed the relationship between the different levels of volume reduction during topology optimization and the energy use of SLM. Third, this research has investigated the impact of different process parameters on the energy use of SLM, which enables the energy efficiency-oriented build process design of SLM.