A Comparison of the Laser Powder Interaction in Laser Powder Bed Fusion and Direct Energy Deposition Processes

Metal additive manufacturing (AM) is a class of innovative production technologies that allows the production of metal components layer by layer directly from a Computer Aided Design (CAD) model. The AM process of aluminium and aluminium alloys gained much interest in past years especially thanks to the high geometrical freedom, the peculiar microstructures and enhanced mechanical properties it is possible to achieve. However, the quality of final metal components strongly depends on the stability and the quality of each single scan track. Therefore, the understanding of the laser-powder interaction and of the phenomena that arise in the melt pool is a key aspect for the development of these technologies. In this work, AlSi10Mg single scan tracks (SSTs), produced by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) and direct energy deposition (DED), were analysed and compared in order to select the most suitable range of parameters for each building process

Improving the manufacturability of metal AM parts

Numerous challenges of additive manufacturing (AM) are tackled in the European Horizon 2020 project PAM^2 by studying and linking every step of the AM process cycle. For example, PAM^2 researchers from the design, processing and application side have collaborated in this work to optimise the manufacturability of metal AM parts using an improved Topology Optimisation (TO) approach, including a thermal constraint. Additionally, the project is focusing on modelling, post-processing, in- and post-process quality control and industrial assessment of AM parts, with the aim of moving beyond the state-of-the-art of precision metal AM

Single scan track analyses on aluminium based powders

Powder bed additive manufacturing technologies gained much attention in past years not only thanks to design freedom but also because of the peculiar microstructures and mechanical properties that can be obtained thanks to the extremely high cooling rate. However the phenomena that arise during the laser scanning are not yet deeply understood. In this work the effect of the main building parameters and of powder properties on the shape, the microstructure and the properties of Al-based LPBF single scan tracks was evaluated. The experiments were carried out with three different powders in order to understand of the effect of the material thermo-physical properties on the consolidation phenomena

Study of single tracks with alsi10mg and composites powders

Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) is a powder-bed additive manufacturing technology capable to produce fully dense metal parts layer-by-layer from a 3D CAD model. The consolidation and the properties of the metal components strongly depend on each laser melted track. The understanding of the interaction between the thermal and physical properties of the powder and the building parameters is a key factor to achieve a good consolidation and can represent a basis for the development of new and innovative AM materials. In this study, the effects of the building parameters, such as laser power and scan speed, on the shape and the microstructure of a single scan track were evaluated. Powders of AlSi10Mg were laser scanned in order to investigate the phenomena that arise in the melt pool such as the balling effect and the spreading of the molten phase. The experiments were carried out in argon atmosphere on an AlSi10Mg platform with fixed laser spot (100 μm) and building platform temperature (100 °C)

Improving the manufacturability of metal AM parts

Numerous challenges of additive manufacturing (AM) are tackled in the European Horizon 2020 project PAM^2 by studying and linking every step of the AM process cycle. For example, PAM^2 researchers from the design, processing and application side have collaborated in this work to optimise the manufacturability of metal AM parts using an improved Topology Optimisation (TO) approach, including a thermal constraint. Additionally, the project is focusing on modelling, post-processing, in- and post-process quality control and industrial assessment of AM parts, with the aim of moving beyond the state-of-the-art of precision metal AM.Structural Optimization and Mechanic

PRECISION ADDITIVE METAL MANUFACTURING

PAM^2, which stands for Precision Additive Metal Manufacturing, is a European project in which 10 beneficiaries and 2 partners collaborate on improving the precision of metal Additive Manufacturing. Within this project, research is done for each process stage of AM, going from the design stage to modeling, fabricating, measuring and assessment. For each step we aim to progress the state of the art with a view of improving the final AM part precision and quality by implementing good precision engineering practice. In this article we will list PAM^2’s detailed objectives, the envisioned approach and the results achieved after 1,5 years of research.status: publishe