A Study on Effect of Different Process Parameters on the Quality of Overhang Surface Produced by Selective Laser Melting

Author(s):  
Sagar Sarkar ◽  
Ankit Porwal ◽  
Nuthalapati Yaswanth ◽  
Ashish Kumar Nath

Selective Laser Melting process enables production of geometrically complex parts directly from CAD model by melting metal powders layer by layer. For successful building of parts, some auxiliary structures namely support structures are also built to ensure proper heat conduction from actual parts to be built to the base plate. Support structures are needed if there are overhang surfaces in the design of the part. If the design of the part is very complex and features many overhang surfaces, then too many supports get generated. After building the part, these support structures need to be removed properly to get desired geometrical features and it may deteriorate the surface quality from where supports are removed. Sometimes removal of support structures becomes very difficult specially for parts having internal features. In this study, first effect of inclined angle, aspect ratio and different scanning strategies on the quality of overhang surfaces produced without any support structure under constant laser power and scan speed has been investigated. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images of overhang surfaces have been analyzed to investigate the presence of warping and uneven fused edges if any. It was found that with increase in inclined angles and aspect ratio, warping and presence of uneven fused edges increases. Rotational scanning strategy found to be better than linear alternate scanning strategy for reduced uneven fused edges formation and warping. Results show an overhang without any support structure can be built successfully with a single laser process parameters upto 25.343 degree which is less than theoretical critical angle of 26.565 degree. Further, it has been shown, using a novel strategy of building overhang with multiple laser process parameters, it is possible to build overhang even upto 24.132 degree.

Metals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 1228
Author(s):  
Junjie Jiang ◽  
Jianming Chen ◽  
Zhihao Ren ◽  
Zhongfa Mao ◽  
Xiangyu Ma ◽  
...  

With superior flexible manufacturing capability, selective laser melting (SLM) has attracted more and more attention in the aerospace, medical, and automotive industries. However, the poor quality of the lower surface in overhanging structures is still one of the factors that limits the wide application of SLM. In this work, the influence of process parameters and scanning strategy on the lower surface quality of SLMed TA15 (Ti-6Al-2Zr-1Mo-1V) titanium alloy parts were studied. The results showed that the laser surface energy density (EF) had a significant influence on the quality of the lower surface. Excessive EF led to obvious sinking of the molten pool and a serious slag hanging phenomenon. However, the too low EF easily contributed to the insufficient powder fusion in the lower surface area, which led to the agglomeration of a molten pool during core processing, resulting in slag hanging, pores, and powder spalling that reduced the quality of the lower surface. Moreover, the cross-remelting strategy and non-remelting strategy gained better surface quality at the low EF and high EF, respectively. In addition, it was found that the quality of the lower surface could be quickly and accurately evaluated by the cooling time of the molten pool during the processing of the lower surface. This research can increase the understanding of the forming mechanism of the lower surface and has certain guiding significance for the process optimization of the lower surface.


2019 ◽  
Vol 342 ◽  
pp. 371-379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dongsheng Sun ◽  
Dongdong Gu ◽  
Kaijie Lin ◽  
Ji Ma ◽  
Wenhua Chen ◽  
...  

Metals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunyong Liang ◽  
Yazhou Hu ◽  
Ning Liu ◽  
Xianrui Zou ◽  
Hongshui Wang ◽  
...  

Selective laser melting (SLM) is emerging as a promising 3D printing method for orthopedic and dental applications. However, SLM-based Ti6Al4V components frequently exhibit high roughness values and partial surface defects. Laser polishing (LP) is a newly developed technology to improve the surface quality of metals. In this research, LP is applied to improve the surface finish of components. The results show that the laser beam can neatly ablate the aggregates of metallic globules and repair cracks and pores on the surface, resulting in a smooth surface with nanocomposites. Overall, the results indicate that using LP optimizes surface morphology to favor fatigue behavior and osteoblastic differentiation. These findings provide foundational data to improve the surface roughness of a laser-polished implant and pave the way for optimized mechanical behavior and biocompatibility via the laser process.


2021 ◽  
Vol 72 ◽  
pp. 419-430
Author(s):  
Zheng-Xiong Ma ◽  
Jie Ning ◽  
Bing Yu ◽  
Lin-Jie Zhang ◽  
Ji-Hong Fan ◽  
...  

2014 ◽  
Vol 698 ◽  
pp. 333-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vadim Sh. Sufiiarov ◽  
Evgenii V. Borisov ◽  
Igor A. Polozov

The results of the research on selective laser melting process of the Inconel 718 superalloy powder under conditions of additive manufacturing of parts for special purposes are presented. The influence of process parameters on the quality of manufactured parts is shown. Process parameters which allow manufacturing parts with the density close to 100%, are determined. Also, the results of mechanical tests and investigation of microstructure are presented.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 760
Author(s):  
Dongqi Zhang ◽  
Jie Yu ◽  
Hui Li ◽  
Xin Zhou ◽  
Changhui Song ◽  
...  

Selective laser melting (SLM) is a layer by layer process of melting and solidifying of metal powders. The surface quality of the previous layer directly affects the uniformity of the next layer. If the surface roughness value of the previous layer is large, there is the possibility of not being able to complete the layering process such that the entire process has to be abandoned. At least, it may result in long term durability problem and the inhomogeneity, may even make the processed structure not be able to be predicted. In the present study, the ability of a fiber laser to in-situ polish the rough surfaces of four typical additive-manufactured alloys, namely, Ti6Al4V, AlSi10Mg, 316L and IN718 was demonstrated. The results revealed that the surface roughness of the as-received alloys could be reduced to about 3 μm through the application of the laser-polishing process, and the initial surfaces had roughness values of 8.80–16.64 μm. Meanwhile, for a given energy density, a higher laser power produced a laser-polishing effect that was often more obvious, with the surface roughness decreasing with an increase in the laser power. Further, the polishing strategy will be optimized by simulation in our following study.


Materials ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Maamoun ◽  
Yi Xue ◽  
Mohamed Elbestawi ◽  
Stephen Veldhuis

Additive manufacturing (AM) offers customization of the microstructures and mechanical properties of fabricated components according to the material selected and process parameters applied. Selective laser melting (SLM) is a commonly-used technique for processing high strength aluminum alloys. The selection of SLM process parameters could control the microstructure of parts and their mechanical properties. However, the process parameters limit and defects obtained inside the as-built parts present obstacles to customized part production. This study investigates the influence of SLM process parameters on the quality of as-built Al6061 and AlSi10Mg parts according to the mutual connection between the microstructure characteristics and mechanical properties. The microstructure of both materials was characterized for different parts processed over a wide range of SLM process parameters. The optimized SLM parameters were investigated to eliminate internal microstructure defects. The behavior of the mechanical properties of parts was presented through regression models generated from the design of experiment (DOE) analysis for the results of hardness, ultimate tensile strength, and yield strength. A comparison between the results obtained and those reported in the literature is presented to illustrate the influence of process parameters, build environment, and powder characteristics on the quality of parts produced. The results obtained from this study could help to customize the part’s quality by satisfying their design requirements in addition to reducing as-built defects which, in turn, would reduce the amount of the post-processing needed.


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