Manufacturability analysis of metal laser-based powder bed fusion additive manufacturing—a survey

Abstract

The laser-based powder bed fusion (LPBF) process is able to produce complex part geometries. The fast development of the LPBF process offers new opportunities for the industries. Most research done to date has focused on the modeling of the process, which shows that both part geometries and process parameters play an essential role in the result of end-product quality. The definition of the manufacturability of the LPBF is vague. In this review, the focus is set on the manufacturability of the metal-LPBF process. What manufacturability is in the LPBF process and how it is investigated so far are discussed. All process parameters and design constraints for LPBF processes are introduced. The relationship between process parameters and design constraints and how they affect the manufacturability are discussed as well. A detailed discussion on how other researchers evaluate manufacturability analysis of LPBF is conducted. Finally, the manufacturability of LPBF is defined, and future prospects on filling the research gaps on the manufacturability analysis of the LPBF are presented.