Machining-induced characteristics of microstructure-supported LPBF-IN718 curved thin walls

Abstract

The microstructure-supported design of engineering components is recently gaining attention due to their high strength-to-weight and high stiffness-to-weight properties. The present study investigates the hybrid manufacturing of Inconel 718 curved thin walls with internal microstructural supports fabricated by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF). Printed walls contain a fixed curvature and thickness, whereas the internal microstructures were varied at different inclination angles. In this research, a finish milling operation has been performed at different milling parameters. Machining-induced damages on the internal microstructures have been studied and correlated with geometrical deviation and surface integrity features on the outer thin wall surfaces.