Preliminary Investigations into Selective Laser Melting

Selective laser melting is a promising metallic additive manufacturing process with many potential applications in a variety of industries. Through a gracious donation made by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, California Polytechnic State University received and installed an SLM 125 HL selective laser melting machine in February 2017. As part of the initial setup effort, a preliminary machine verification study was conducted to evaluate the general print quality of the machine with default parameter settings. Coincidentally, the as-printed microstructure of SLM components was evaluated through nil strength fracture surface examination, an alternative to conventional polish-and-etch metallography. A diverse set of components were printed on the SLM 125 HL to determine the procedural best practices and inherent constraints. Additionally, the mode and mechanism of failure for a defective Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory component fabricated at their facility was investigated. From these studies, extensive documentation in the form of standard operating procedures, guidelines, templates, and summary reports was generated with the intent of facilitating future selective laser melting research at Cal Poly and strengthening the learning of students interfacing with the novel technology

Metals Additive Manufacturing Powder Aging Characterization

The metallic additive manufacturing process known as selective laser melting requires highly spherical, normally distributed powder with diameters in the range of 10 to 50 microns. Previous observations have shown a degradation in powder quality over time, resulting in unwanted characteristics in the final printed parts. 21-6-9 stainless steel powder was used to fabricate test parts, with leftover powder recycled back into the machine. Powder samples and test specimens were characterized to observe changes across build cycles. Few changes were observed in the physical and mechanical properties of the specimens, however, there were indications of chemical changes across cycles. Potential areas of research were identified for future investigation into this subject