Low Coherence Interferometry in Selective Laser Melting

Selective Laser Melting (SLM) is an additive layer manufacturing technology that offers several advantages compared to conven- tional methods of production such as an increased freedom of design and a toolless production suited for variable lot sizes. Despite these attractive aspects today's state of the art SLM machines lack a holistic process monitoring system that detects and records typical defects during production. A novel sensor concept based on the low coherence interferometry (LCI) was integrated into an SLM production setup. The sensor is mounted coaxially to the processing laser beam and is capable of sampling distances along the optical axis. Measurements during and between the processing of powder layers can reveal crucial topology information which is closely related to the final part quality. The overall potential of the sensor in terms of quality assurance and process control is being discussed. Furthermore fundamental experiments were performed to derive the performance of the system.