Abstract
The present work explores the variation in Ti-6Al-4V part quality introduced by the key process operations of Selective Laser Melting (SLM) process, the recoating, the gas flow, and the laser beam irradiation. Novel specimens and experiments were designed to characterize the differences in surface quality and thermal history as a function of part geometry and location on the build platform. The variation in the roughness of inclined surfaces shows a clear dependency on the laser incidence angle and the influence of gas flow on process by-products. The direction in which the laser beam traverse across the build area with respect to the gas flow direction also affects the surface quality. Thermal profiles were recorded by attaching thermocouples to the surface of the built part with various geometries. The measured temperature profiles show intense local fluctuations due to the rapid movement of the laser beam. The parts also experience a continuous heat treatment throughout the SLM process due to the low effective conductivity of the powder bed and continuous heat input by the laser.
Highlights
Selective Laser Melting (SLM) is an additive manufacturing process that employs a focused laser beam to fuse consecutive layers of powder particles to form three-dimensional parts
The farther away the samples are from the laser origin, the more the laser beam incidence angle at powder bed surface deviates from vertical incidence
As we compare the samples belonging to the same column, sample A1 and A3 are rougher than sample A2 that is slightly closer to the laser origin
Summary
Selective Laser Melting (SLM) is an additive manufacturing process that employs a focused laser beam to fuse consecutive layers of powder particles to form three-dimensional parts. The SLM technology is one of the most prominent metal additive manufacturing (AM) methods, and is advantageous in making small batches of complex shaped components with high resolution and relatively lower surface roughness as compared to other metal AM variants such as Directed Light Fabrication (DLF) and Electron Beam Melting (EBM) technique. Various numerical simulation methods has been employed to correlate the melt pool geometry, size and dynamics with AM processing parameters to better fundamental understanding of the process and to reduce the trial-and-error experimental cost. The estimations of melt pool temperature distribution and dimensions with improved accuracy as outcomes of the aforementioned models of these models can be used as inputs for Finite Element models which are computationally more efficient for scaling up in order to predict thermal stress from temperature field simulation
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