Influence of satellite and agglomeration of powder on the processability of AlSi10Mg powder in Laser Powder Bed Fusion

Abstract

Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is a powder-based Additive Manufacturing (AM) technology, where the quality control of powder feedstock is critical as the particle packing on the powder bed and laser–particle interaction during laser melting influence the quality of the final parts. In this work, two AlSi10Mg powder batches with satellite particles and non-satellite particles were used to fabricated LPBF AlSi10Mg samples, and the influences of the different powder properties on the defect, microstructure, and surface morphology were quantified. The satellite and agglomeration of powder leads to the formation of the large powder cluster and poor powder flowability and subsequently forms the inter-particle gap left in the powder bed. In the LPBF process, these powder properties can cause uneven recoating and rough surface, which continues to accumulate, eventually forming internal defects such as lack-of-fusion or unfilled irregular shaped defects in parts.