Abstract
The paper studies the potential to improve the surface roughness in parts manufactured in the Selective Laser Melting (SLM) process by using additional milling. The studied process was machining of samples made of the AlSi10Mg alloy powder. The simultaneous impacts of the laser scanning speed of the SLM process and the machining parameters of the milling process (such as the feed rate and milling width) on the surface roughness were analyzed. A mathematical model was created as a basis for optimizing the parameters of the studied processes and for selecting the sets of optimum solutions. As a result of the research, surface with low roughness (Ra = 0.14 μm, Rz = 1.1 μm) was obtained after the face milling. The performed milling allowed to reduce more than 20-fold the roughness of the SLM sample surfaces. The feed rate and the cutting width increase resulted in the surface roughness deterioration. Some milled surfaces were damaged by the chip adjoining to the rake face of the cutting tool back tooth.
Highlights
The Additive Manufacturing (AM) technology, commonly known as 3D printing, allows to layer-by-layer parts manufacture
The best surface roughness (Ra = 3.55 ± 0.32 μm, Rz = 18.3 ± 2.3 μm) was obtained for a semi-finished part made with the lowest laser scanning speed v = 600 mm/s which corresponds to the laser beam energy density of Ed = 73 J/mm3
The mathematical model created with the use of Response Surface Methodology (RSM) allows a prediction of the surface roughness
Summary
The Additive Manufacturing (AM) technology, commonly known as 3D printing, allows to layer-by-layer parts manufacture. The surface roughness of the SLM-made parts, in correlation to the porosity, initially decreases and grows as the laser beam energy density increases [9,12]. The least roughness was obtained after machining the x-z plane, the largest on the x-y plane They did not analyze, the impact of the SLM process parameters and the milling on surface roughness. Struzikiewicz et al [22] analyzed the turning of the AlSi10Mg alloy and noticed many burrs and breaches on the machined surfaces of SLM-manufactured semi-finished parts. By using the subtractive material removal process, the authors reduced the surface roughness, but did not notice significant differences between the SLM and traditionally manufactured semi-finished parts. The literature review indicates a lack of publications which analyze simultaneously the impact of the SLM process parameters and the subsequent machining on the obtained surface roughness.
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