Experimental Approbation of Selective Laser Melting of Powders by the Use of Non-Gaussian Power Density Distributions

Experimental results on laser beam modulation at selective laser melting (SLM) are presented. The modulation is a possible way to improve the efficiency of the SLM process. The optical diagnostics shows the energy loss up to 30%. This could be a consequence of high thermal gradients in the melt pool resulted by the Gaussian power density distribution. The Gaussian distribution can be changed to the flat-top one or to the inverse-Gaussian (donut) one. An experimental stand with a 200W laser source was developed. Twenty single tracks for each of the three modes were obtained for a Co-Cr alloy. The samples were studied by scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) on irregularity. Optical diagnostics by high velocity camera (HVC) shows that the use of the non-Gaussian laser beam distributions can significantly reduce the width of the free-of-powder consolidation zone, which is considered as the main reason for irregularity of single tracks. A better metallurgical bonding of the single tracks with the substrate was obtained by the use of the flat-top laser beam. Both of these facts show a significant influence of the laser beam energy distribution on the energy loss at SLM, especially for high power laser sources. The observed escape of granules shows a possible influence of the dynamic factor. The use of the non-Gaussian distributions can enhance 3D parts, for example, improve the geometrical tolerance and decrease the residual porosity.