Characterization of Process Efficiency Improvement in Laser Additive Manufacturing

Laser additive manufacturing (LAM) enables production of complex parts with good mechanical properties. Nevertheless, part manufacturing is still relatively slow and the process efficiency could be improved to achieve total breakthrough into series production. In this study, the process efficiency improvements via higher laser power and thicker powder layers are studied. Effect of the building parameters must be understood when increasing build rate. Track-wise and layer-wise manufacturing strategy involves different independent and dependent thermal cycles which all affect part properties.Effects of the processing parameters such as speed and power on single-track formation are examined, since the part quality depend strongly on each single-track and layer. It was concluded that heat input has important effect on the penetration depth and possibility to melt thicker powder layers. These were noticed to be crucial for improving process efficiency.