Influence of laser parameters on the surface morphology of slurry-based Al2O3 parts produced through selective laser melting

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 333-341 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kai Zhang ◽  
Tingting Liu ◽  
Wenhe Liao ◽  
Changdong Zhang ◽  
Yishuai Yan ◽  
...  

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to obtain high-performance ceramics and enrich additive manufacturing of ceramic parts. Also, a new manufacturing technique based on slurry by selective laser melting (SLM) was studied, which has some significant advantages compared to indirect selective laser sintering of ceramic powders. Design/methodology/approach To study the effect of laser parameters on the surface morphology and melting state of pure Al2O3 ceramics, laser power varied between 100 and 200 W and scan speed varied between 60 and 90 mm/s. Findings Experimental results show that Al2O3 slurry melts completely when the laser power is about 200 W and the scanning speed is 90 mm/s. Surface quality cannot be improved effectively by changing the scanning speed. However, surface quality improves when the laser power is 200∼205 W and energy density is 889∼911 J/mm3. Thermocapillary convection was observed during SLM. By changing the temperature gradient, streak convection and flowing Bénard cells were obtained during SLM of Al2O3 slurry. Originality/value It is feasible to produce slurry ceramic parts without binders through SLM. Increasing the laser power is the most effective way to fully melt the ceramics. Complex thermocapillary convection was observed during this new process; it may be used to produce crystals.

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abid Ullah ◽  
HengAn Wu ◽  
Asif Ur Rehman ◽  
YinBo Zhu ◽  
Tingting Liu ◽  
...  

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to eliminate Part defects and enrich additive manufacturing of ceramics. Laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) experiments were carried to investigate the effects of laser parameters and selective oxidation of Titanium (mixed with TiO2) on the microstructure, surface quality and melting state of Titania. The causes of several L-PBF parts defects were thoroughly analyzed. Design/methodology/approach Laser power and scanning speed were varied within a specific range (50–125 W and 170–200 mm/s, respectively). Furthermore, varying loads of Ti (1%, 3%, 5% and 15%) were mixed with TiO2, which was selectively oxidized with laser beam in the presence of oxygen environment. Findings Part defects such as cracks, pores and uneven grains growth were widely reduced in TiO2 L-PBF specimens. Increasing the laser power and decreasing the scanning speed shown significant improvements in the surface morphology of TiO2 ceramics. The amount of Ti material was fully melted and simultaneously changed into TiO2 by the application of the laser beam. The selective oxidation of Ti material also improved the melting condition, microstructure and surface quality of the specimens. Originality/value TiO2 ceramic specimens were produced through L-PBF process. Increasing the laser power and decreasing the scanning speed is an effective way to sufficiently melt the powders and reduce parts defects. Selective oxidation of Ti by a high power laser beam approach was used to improve the manufacturability of TiO2 specimens.


2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (9) ◽  
pp. 1554-1562 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luo Zhang ◽  
Haihong Zhu ◽  
Jiahe Liu ◽  
Xiaoyan Zeng

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the track evolution and surface characteristics of selective laser melting Ti6Al4V. Design/methodology/approach In the present paper, Ti6Al4V single-track, multi-track and bulk sample were formed at different scanning speed by selective laser melting (SLM). Then, the surface morphology, three-dimension profile and surface roughness were evaluated. The width of the single and multi-track was measured and compared. Findings The results showed that the heat accumulation played a great role on the evolution of tracks and surface characteristics from single-track to multi-track and to bulk. The surface morphology of the subsequent tracks became more regular when the single-track was irregular at the same high scanning speed. The width of last track Wn was always larger than that of the first track W1. The Ra of the top of the bulk increased with the increase of the scanning speed, this trend was as same as the Ra of the single-track, but the trend of Ra of the side was opposite. Originality/value The effect of heat accumulation on the track evolution and surface characteristics is obtained. The results can help to derive a smooth surface with a regular and continuous track in SLM.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 871-879 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haihua Wu ◽  
Junfeng Li ◽  
Zhengying Wei ◽  
Pei Wei

Purpose To fabricate a selective laser melting (SLM)-processed AlSi10Mg part with almost full density and free of any apparent pores, this study aims to investigate the effect of ambient argon pressure and laser scanning speed on the particles splash during the AlSi10Mg powder bed laser melting. Design/methodology/approach Based on the discrete element method (DEM), a 3D model of random distribution of powder particles was established, and the 3D free surface of SLM forming process was dynamically tracked by the volume of fluid, where a Gaussian laser beam acts as the energy source melting the powder bed. Through the numerical simulation and process experimental research, the effect of the applied laser power and scanning speed on the operating laser melting temperature was studied. Findings The process stability has a fundamental role in the porosity formation, which is process-dependent. The effect of the processing conditions on the process stability and the resultant forming defects were clarified. Research limitations/implications The results shows that the pores were the main defects present in the SLM-processed AlSi10Mg sample, which decreases the densification level of the sample. Practical implications The optimal processing parameters (argon pressure of 1,000 Pa, laser power of 180 W, scan speed of 1,000 mm/s, powder layer thickness of 35 µm and hatch spacing of 50 µm ) applied during laser melting can improve the quality of selective laser melting of AlSi10Mg, Social implications It can provide a technological support for 3D printing. Originality/value Based on the analysis of the pore and balling formation mechanisms, the optimal processing parameters have been obtained, which were argon pressure of 1,000 Pa, laser power of 180 W, scan speed of 1,000 mm/s, powder layer thickness of 35 µm and hatch spacing of 50 µm. Then, a near-fully dense sample free of any apparent pores on the cross-sectional microstructure was produced by SLM, wherein the relative density of the as-built samples is larger than 97.5%.


2011 ◽  
Vol 233-235 ◽  
pp. 2844-2848 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Wang ◽  
Qing Song Wei ◽  
Yu Sheng Shi ◽  
Jin Hui Liu ◽  
Wen Ting He

Selective laser melting(SLM) is driven by the need to fabricate functional metallic parts and tools with near shape and density. The method of process to fabricate a metal part will save materials, time and energy compared to the traditional manufacturing methods. Unlike the selective laser sintering (SLS), the metal powder particles are molten by the laser beam during the process of selective laser melting. In this paper, IN625 powders were adopted to investigate the characters of single molten track. The factors that affect the surface quality and relative density are the process parameters such as the laser energy, scan speed and so on. They were studied to find out the correlation between the parameters and formation of single-track. It has been found that Optimal ratio between laser power and scanning speed (P/v) is 1-1.5 for IN625 SLM. P/v is the linear energy density. It also has been found that the width and height of single-track can be calculated when the linear energy density is given. In this study the laser power, scan spacing and the hatch spacing which affect the surface quality and the relative density of the metallic parts were optimized.


2020 ◽  
Vol 308 ◽  
pp. 21-32
Author(s):  
Anna Woźniak ◽  
Marcin Adamiak ◽  
Bogusław Ziębowicz

High requirements in biomedical application are associated with biocompatibility and high corrosion resistance of metal biomaterials, which are used equally in joint and bon substitution and the healing and renewal of bone weaknesses. In this paper the surface morphology and electrochemical properties of samples manufactured by Selective Laser Melting SLM method using pure titanium Grade II powder material are explored. The tested samples were produced divided into four group, depended on the values of basic process parameters – laser power P, scanning speed SP and point distance PD. The value of energy density E delivered to the sintered material was constants and was an approximately E = 75 ± 2 J/mm3. In the paper, the pitting corrosion test by recording anodic polarization curves and electrochemical spectroscopy test were carried out. Additionally the microscopic observation and microchemical analysis by SEM/EDS analysis and material density measurements were performed too. Based on the obtained results it can be concluded that the laser power P and scanning speed SP have a significant affect on the obtained full density defect free material with high corrosion resistance.


2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (15) ◽  
pp. 2025-2035
Author(s):  
Mohd Faizal Sadali ◽  
Mohamad Zaki Hassan ◽  
Fauzan Ahmad ◽  
Hafizal Yahaya ◽  
Zainudin A Rasid

Abstract


2020 ◽  
Vol 861 ◽  
pp. 77-82
Author(s):  
Gan Li ◽  
Cheng Guo ◽  
Wen Feng Guo ◽  
Hong Xing Lu ◽  
Lin Ju Wen ◽  
...  

This study investigated the effect of laser power (P), scan speed (v) and hatch space (h) on densification behavior, surface quality and hardness of 18Ni300 maraging steel fabricated by selective laser melting (SLM). The results indicated that the relative density of the SLMed samples has a shape increase from 73% to 97% with the laser energy density increasing from 0.5 to 2.2 J/mm2. The relative density ≥ 99% was achieved at the energy density in the range of 2.2~5.9 J/mm2. The optimum process parameters were found to be laser power of 150~200 W, scan speed of 600mm/s and hatch space of 0.105mm. In addition, it was found that the hardness increased initially with the increasing relative density up to relative density of 90% and then little relationship, but finally increase again significantly. This work provides reference for determining process parameters for SLMed maraging steel and the development of 3D printing of die steels.


Metals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 877
Author(s):  
Cong Ma ◽  
Xianshun Wei ◽  
Biao Yan ◽  
Pengfei Yan

A single-layer three-dimensional model was created to simulate multi-channel scanning of AlSi25 powder in selective laser melting (SLM) by the finite element method. Thermal behaviors of laser power and scanning speed in the procedure of SLM AlSi25 powder were studied. With the increase of laser power, the maximum temperature, size and cooling rate of the molten pool increase, while the scanning speed decreases. For an expected SLM process, a perfect molten pool can be generated using process parameters of laser power of 180 W and a scanning speed of 200 mm/s. The pool is greater than the width of the scanning interval, the depth of the molten pool is close to scan powder layer thickness, the temperature of the molten pool is higher than the melting point temperature of the powder and the parameters of the width and depth are the highest. To confirm the accuracy of the simulation results of forecasting excellent process parameters, the SLM experiment of forming AlSi25 powder was carried out. The surface morphology of the printed sample is intact without holes and defects, and a satisfactory metallurgical bond between adjacent scanning channels and adjacent scanning layers was achieved. Therefore, the development of numerical simulation in this paper provides an effective method to obtain the best process parameters, which can be used as a choice to further improve SLM process parameters. In the future, metallographic technology can also be implemented to obtain the width-to-depth ratio of the SLM sample molten pool, enhancing the connection between experiment and theory.


2017 ◽  
Vol 743 ◽  
pp. 9-12
Author(s):  
Zhanna G. Kovalevskaya ◽  
Margarita A. Khimich ◽  
Andrey V. Belyakov

Porosity, values of nanohardness and Young’s modulus of the specimens obtained with the method of selective laser melting were measured with optical methods, scanning electron microscopy and Nano Hardness Tester NHT-S-AX-000X device for measuring physicomechanical properties. Ti-45wt%Nb powder obtained with mechanical alloying was used for selective laser melting. The results have shown that increased heat input due to the laser power growth up to 80 W and scanning speed decrease down to 40 mm/s decreases the porosity of the specimen. The nanohardness average value is not sensitive to the changes of scanning modes in the investigated range. The Young’s modulus decreases with energy input increase.


2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 301-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teodora Marcu ◽  
Cinzia Menapace ◽  
Luca Girardini ◽  
Dan Leordean ◽  
Catalin Popa

Purpose – The purpose of this paper was to obtain by means of selective laser melting and then characterize biocomposites of medical-grade Ti6Al7Nb with hydroxyapatite (2 and 5 vol.%) and without hydroxyapatite, as reference. Design/methodology/approach – Rectangular samples were manufactured with the same scanning strategy; the laser power was between 50 W and 200 W. Processed samples were analysed by means of optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and microhardness. Findings – The results showed that despite the very short processing times, hydroxyapatite decomposed and interacted with the base Ti6Al7Nb material. The decomposition degree was found to depend on the applied laser power. From the porosity and bulk microstructure point of view, the most appropriate materials for the purposed medical applications were Ti6Al7Nb with hydroxyapatite processed with a laser power of 50 W. Originality/value – The originality of the present work consists in the study of the behaviour and interaction of hydroxyapatite additive with the Ti6Al7Nb base powder under selective laser melting conditions, as depending on the applied laser power.


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