Abstract
Selective laser melting (SLM) enables the production of metal complex shapes that are difficult or impossible to obtain with conventional production processes. However, the attainable surface quality is insufficient for most applications; thus, a secondary finishing is frequently required. Barrel finishing is an interesting candidate but is often applied without consistent criteria aimed at finding processing parameters. This work presents a methodology based on Bagnold number evaluation and bed behavior diagram, developed on experimental apparatus with different charges and process parameters. The experimentation on an industrial machine and the profilometric analysis allowed the identification of appropriate process parameters and charge media for finishing the investigated materials (Ti6Al4V and Inconel718). Two case studies, characterized by complex shapes, were considered, and consistent surface measures allowed understanding the capability of the technology.
Highlights
Selective laser melting (SLM), which belongs to the category of powder bed fusion [1], is one of the fastest growing additive manufacturing (AM) technologies globally
SLM plays an important role in producing complex parts, but the obtainable surface quality remains a crucial aspect
A systematic approach based on number allowed determining the feasibility regions for Barrel finishing (BF) operations
Summary
Selective laser melting (SLM), which belongs to the category of powder bed fusion [1], is one of the fastest growing additive manufacturing (AM) technologies globally It allows producing metal components with complex geometry, resulting in severely reduced design and production times of the entire productive process [2]. SLM permits producing fully dense parts in a direct way, thereby saving on raw material with respect to subtractive technologies [6] It promotes the possibility of producing customized metal components in a cost-effective manner, allowing great flexibility in production; the design freedom allows improving the efficiency [7] and the functionality [8,9] of
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