scholarly journals The Effects of Selective Laser Melting Process Parameters on Relative Density of the AlSi10Mg Parts and Suitable Procedures of the Archimedes Method

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 583 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shigang Bai ◽  
Nataliya Perevoshchikova ◽  
Yu Sha ◽  
Xinhua Wu

In view of the importance of accurately measuring the relative density of a selective laser melted (SLMed) part for optimizing the selective laser melting (SLM) processing parameters, suitable procedures of the Archimedes method considering the surface-connected cavities were proposed by comparing the results using the Archimedes method with image analysis. The effects of the SLM processing parameters on the relative density of AlSi10Mg were investigated using the proposed procedures of the Archimedes methods and image analysis. Fourteen SLMed samples were produced by different SLM processing parameters according to Doehlert Matrix. The regression models correlating relative density and three SLM processing parameters (laser power, scan speed, and hatching distance) were built and the optimum parameter combination to get a high relative density was obtained. By plotting the response surfaces and contours of the regression models, it was found that the relative densities are both higher at the combination of the higher scan speed, higher power, and lower hatching distance and at the combination of a lower scan speed, a moderate laser power, and a optional hatching distance. It was also found that the parameter of hatching distance is the crucial parameter to get a high relative density and to get high mechanical property.

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.


2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 881-892 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nataliya Perevoshchikova ◽  
Jordan Rigaud ◽  
Yu Sha ◽  
Martin Heilmaier ◽  
Barrie Finnin ◽  
...  

Purpose The Ni-based superalloy IN-738 LC is known to be susceptible to porosity and different types of cracking during the build-up process and, thus, challenging to manufacture using selective laser melting (SLM). Determining a feasible set of operating parameters for SLM of nickel-based superalloys involves new approach to experimental design based on the Doehlert method that assists in determining an optimal (feasible) set of operating parameters for SLM of IN-738 LC powder alloy. Design/methodology/approach The SLM parameters are evaluated in terms of their effectiveness in obtaining the microstructure with a porosity content of <0.5 per cent and without micro-cracking. The experimental approach is exemplified with the Doehlert matrix response variable, relative density, by comparing Archimedes method with microstructural assessments of pores and cracks from image analysis. The effect of heat treatment (HT) and hot isostatic pressing (HIP) on the microstructure of the SLMed IN-738 LC powder alloy has been examined and the consequential tensile response characterised. Findings By using optimised process parameters (low heat input, medium scanning speed and small hatching distance) which provides medium energy density, samples of IN-738 LC with a macroscopic porosity <0.5 per cent and free of micro-cracks can be manufactured by SLM. The results indicate that HIP of SLMed material did not lead to a noticeable effect on mechanical properties compared to HT of SLMed material suggesting that the level of both porosity and crack density might be already below the detection limit for the mere heat-treated material. Originality/value SLM processing parameters (power, scan speed, hatching distance) for IN-738 LC were successfully optimised after only 14 experiments using Doehlert design. Two independent methods, Archimedes method and image analysis, were used in this study to assess relative density of SLM-produced samples with sets of processing parameters showing coherency in prediction with predicted response by Doehlert design.


Author(s):  
Yong Deng ◽  
Zhongfa Mao ◽  
Nan Yang ◽  
Xiaodong Niu ◽  
Xiangdong Lu

Although the concept of additive manufacturing has been proposed for several decades, momentum of selective laser melting (SLM) is finally starting to build. In SLM, density and surface roughness, as the important quality indexes of SLMed parts, are dependent on the processing parameters. However, there are few studies on their collaborative optimization in SLM to obtain high relative density and low surface roughness simultaneously in the previous literature. In this work, the response surface method was adopted to study the influences of different processing parameters (laser power, scanning speed and hatch space) on density and surface roughness of 316L stainless steel parts fabricated by SLM. The statistical relationship model between processing parameters and manufacturing quality is established. A multi-objective collaborative optimization strategy considering both density and surface roughness is proposed. The experimental results show that the main effects of processing parameters on the density and surface roughness are similar. It is noted that the effects of the laser power and scanning speed on the above objective quality show highly significant, while hatch space behaves an insignificant impact. Based on the above optimization, 316L stainless steel parts with excellent surface roughness and relative density can be obtained by SLM with optimized processing parameters.


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%.


Materials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 1601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong Deng ◽  
Zhongfa Mao ◽  
Nan Yang ◽  
Xiaodong Niu ◽  
Xiangdong Lu

Although the concept of additive manufacturing has been proposed for several decades, momentum in the area of selective laser melting (SLM) is finally starting to build. In SLM, density and surface roughness, as the important quality indexes of SLMed parts, are dependent on the processing parameters. However, there are few studies on their collaborative optimization during SLM to obtain high relative density and low surface roughness simultaneously in the literature. In this work, the response surface method was adopted to study the influences of different processing parameters (laser power, scanning speed and hatch space) on density and surface roughness of 316L stainless steel parts fabricated by SLM. A statistical relationship model between processing parameters and manufacturing quality is established. A multi-objective collaborative optimization strategy considering both density and surface roughness is proposed. The experimental results show that the main effects of processing parameters on the density and surface roughness are similar. We observed that the laser power and scanning speed significantly affected the above objective quality, but the influence of the hatch spacing was comparatively low. Based on the above optimization, 316L stainless steel parts with excellent surface roughness and relative density can be obtained by SLM with optimized processing parameters.


Author(s):  
Miranda Fateri ◽  
Andreas Gebhardt ◽  
Maziar Khosravi

Selective Laser Melting (SLM) is a powder based Additive manufacturing (AM) technology which builds an object layer wise using a laser beam to melt the powder on an elevated platform. Thus far numerous studies have investigated lunar manufacturing methods and construction but little is known about applicability of SLM of lunar regolith. As most lunar construction proposals require transportation of essential materials from Earth, using an in-situ manufacturing method with indigenous material would be considerably more economical. Fabrication of parts with SLM using various metals and ceramics has already been presented. As such, the feasibility of using lunar regolith mixture to create functional parts with SLM process is investigated. Variation of process parameters such as laser power, scan speed, and scan strategies is investigated and multiple 3D objects are successfully created and presented.


Metals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 1883
Author(s):  
Peng Yang ◽  
Xingye Guo ◽  
Dingyong He ◽  
Zhen Tan ◽  
Wei Shao ◽  
...  

Pure Copper (Cu) is very difficult to prepare using selective laser melting (SLM) technology. This work successfully prepared the pure Cu with high relative density and high strength by the SLM technology using a surface oxidation treatment. The gas-atomized pure Cu powder was used as the feedstock in this work. Before the SLM process, the pure Cu powder was initially handled using the surface oxidation treatment to coat the powder with an extremely thin layer of Cu2O. The SLMed highly dense specimens contain α-Cu and nano-Cu2O phases. A relationship between the processing parameters (laser power (LP), scanning speed (SS), and hatch space (HS)) and density of Cu alloy in SLM was also investigated. The microstructure of SLMed Cu consists of fine grains with grain sizes ranging from 0.5 to ~30 μm. Tensile testing and detailed microstructural characterization were performed on specimens in the as-SLMed and pure copper state specimens. The mechanical property experiments showed that the specimens prepared by SLM technology containing nano-oxide phases had higher yield strength and tensile strength than that of other SLM-built pure copper. However, the elongation was remarkably decreased compared to other SLM-built pure copper, due to the fine grains and the nano-oxides.


Materials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (19) ◽  
pp. 4268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariusz Król ◽  
Przemysław Snopiński ◽  
Jiří Hajnyš ◽  
Marek Pagáč ◽  
Dariusz Łukowiec

In the present study, 18% Ni 300 maraging steel powder was processed using a selective laser melting (SLM) technique to study porosity variations, microstructure, and hardness using various process conditions, while maintaining a constant level of energy density. Nowadays, there is wide range of utilization of metal technologies and its products can obtain high relative density. A dilatometry study revealed that, through heating cycles, two solid-state effects took place, i.e., precipitation of intermetallic compounds and the reversion of martensite to austenite. During the cooling process, one reaction took place (i.e., martensitic transformation), which was confirmed by microstructure observation. The improvements in the Rockwell hardness of the analyzed material from 42 ± 2 to 52 ± 0.5 HRC was improved as a result of aging treatment at 480 °C for 5 h. The results revealed that the relative density increased using laser speed (340 mm/s), layer thickness (30 µm), and hatch distance (120 µm). Relative density was found approximately 99.3%. Knowledge about the influence of individual parameters in the SLM process on porosity will enable potential manufacturers to produce high quality components with desired properties.


2011 ◽  
Vol 189-193 ◽  
pp. 3668-3671 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qing Song Wei ◽  
Xiao Zhao ◽  
Li Wang ◽  
Rui Di Li ◽  
Jie Liu ◽  
...  

Selective Laser Melting (SLM) can produce high-performance metal parts with complex structures. However, it’s difficult to control the processing parameters, because many factors involves. From the perspective of the molten pool, the study focuses on the effects of processing parameters, including scanning speed, laser power, scanning space, layer thickness, and scanning strategies, on the surface quality, the balling effect, the density of SLM parts, by conducting experiments of single track, single layer and block forming. The results show that the quality of the molten pool is affected by laser power and scanning speed. Scanning drove in the strategy of “jumping and turning”,a smooth surface and a less balling effect will be obtained. The thicker the powder layer is, the lower density will be obtained. The optimal parameters from series of experiments are: laser power of 98W; scanning speed of 90mm/s; scanning space of 0.07mm; layer thickness of 0.1mm; and scanning strategy of “jumping and turning”.


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