| About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
Materials Science & Technology 2020
|
| Symposium
|
Additive Manufacturing: Qualification and Certification
|
| Presentation Title |
Unveiling the Relationships between Powder Bed Conditions and Materials Quality during Selective Laser Melting |
| Author(s) |
Tan Phuc Le, Matteo Seita |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Matteo Seita |
| Abstract Scope |
All powder bed additive manufacturing processes involve spreading a thin layer of powder feedstock that is selectively consolidated, either thermally or chemically. The characteristics of this powder layer—such as its packing density, thickness uniformity, and contamination level—strongly affect the quality of the resulting parts. In this work, we demonstrate the capability of acquiring this information in-situ—layer by layer—using a “powder bed scanner” (PBS). The PBS consists of a re-coater that integrates a contact image sensor to image the entire powder bed at high spatial resolution. We use the PBS during selective laser melting of stainless steel 316L and correlate site-specific powder bed features to the porosity and microstructure of 3D printed samples. These results provide insights into the relationships between powder bed conditions and part quality, and open a new pathway to in-line monitoring of powder bed additive manufacturing processes. |