On the quality of unsupported overhangs produced by laser powder bed fusion. (3rd June 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Piscopo, Gabriele; Salmi, Alessandro; Atzeni, Eleonora
• Is Part Of: International journal of manufacturing research. Volume 14:Number 2(2019)
• Page Start: 198
• Page End: 216
• Publication Date: 2019-06-03
• Subjects: additive manufacturing -- selective laser melting -- SLM -- powder bed fusion -- PBF -- unsupported overhangs -- surface quality -- process parameters -- roughness -- optical scanning system; Manufacturing processes -- Periodicals; Manufacturing processes -- Automation -- Periodicals; Production engineering -- Periodicals; Factory management -- Periodicals; 670.5
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1750-0591

Abstract

One of the main design constraints for additive manufacturing is the definition of downward-facing surfaces, which can lead to problems, like part failing or warping, during construction and poor surface quality. In this paper, a specific index has been defined to represent the surface quality of the downward-facing surfaces induced by the laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) process. In order to validate the quality index, a design of experiment (DoE) that considers geometric parameters of the overhangs has been defined and carried out, and the quality of resulting surfaces has been evaluated using an optical scanning system. The statistical analysis (ANOVA) has allowed identifying the relationships between significant geometrical parameters and the quality index here proposed. [Submitted 5 April 2018; Accepted 27 August 2018]