Support Structure Impact in Laser-Based Powder Bed Fusion of AlSi10Mg

Abstract

Laser-Based Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) is one of the most established additive manufacturing methods used to build metallic components. During L-PBF, cross-sections of the components are melted in a powder bed by a laser. To connect the workpieces to the building platform, to dissipate the heat induced by the laser and to reduce characteristic distortion, support structures are applied. So far, different support structures were mostly compared with each other with regard to the resulting process results, such as microstructure, residual stresses and distortion. In this study, however, the influence of the area supported by the support structures is systematically investigated. For two different supports (columns and meanders), the percentage of the supported area is varied between 0 and 70% and the influences on the microhardness profiles, melt path geometries and distortion are analyzed. For instance, by increasing the supported area, it has been possible to reduce distortion by up to approximately 30%.