Finite Element Analysis to Improve the Accuracy of Parts Made by Stainless Steel 316L Material Using Selective Laser Melting Technology

One of the serious problems in the SLM process, using metallic powders is the thermal distortion of the model during forming. As a result of the locally concentrated energy input, the temperature gradient mechanism and the related processes lead to residual stresses and part deformations. Since the solidified part is cooled rapidly, the model tends to be deformed and cracked due to the thermal stresses. All these aspects were considered for a series of analyses that were made using the finite element method in order to determine the optimum process parameters (laser power, scanning speed, powder bed temperature) that are required in order to improve the accuracy of the metallic parts made by Stainless Steel 316L material using the Selective Laser Melting process.