Monitoring of temperature profiles and surface morphologies during laser sintering of alumina ceramics

Additive manufacturing of alumina by laser is a delicate process and small changes of processing parameters might cause less controlled and understood consequences. The real-time monitoring of temperature profiles, spectrum profiles and surface morphologies were evaluated in off-axial set-up for controlling the laser sintering of alumina ceramics. The real-time spectrometer and pyrometer were used for rapid monitoring of the thermal stability during the laser sintering process. An active illumination imaging system successfully recorded the high temperature melt pool and surrounding area simultaneously. The captured images also showed how the defects form and progress during the laser sintering process. All of these real-time monitoring methods have shown a great potential for on-line quality control during laser sintering of ceramics.