An Automatic on Top Analysis of Single Scan Tracks to Evaluate the Laser Powder Bed Fusion Building Parameters

Martucci, Alessandra; Marinucci, Fabrizio; Sivo, Antonio; Aversa, Alberta; Manfredi, Diego; Bondioli, Federica; Fino, Paolo; Lombardi, Mariangela

doi:10.3390/ma14185171

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 17 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The SSTs cross-sectional analysis involves a complex and time-consuming sample preparation procedure however the on-top evaluation is strongly affected by the operator error. To numerically evaluate the quality of a SST, an automatic computer-aided method was recently developed by the authors in a previously published work [ 60 ]. Although this approach still requires a DOE of bulk samples for full optimisation, a further streamlining of the procedure was enabled by Gheysen et al [ 59 ] and Bosio et al [ 61 ] who developed a method to derive the optimal hd value directly from SSTs.…”

Section: Pre-processingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ongoing Challenges of Laser-Based Powder Bed Fusion Processing of Al Alloys and Potential Solutions from the Literature—A Review

2023

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Their high strength-to-weight ratio, good corrosion resistance and excellent thermal and electrical conductivity have exponentially increased the interest in aluminium alloys in the context of laser-based powder bed fusion (PBF-LB/M) production. Although Al-based alloys are the third most investigated category of alloys in the literature and the second most used in industry, their processing by PBF-LB/M is often hampered by their considerable solidification shrinkage, tendency to oxidation, high laser reflectivity and poor powder flowability. For these reasons, high-strength Al-based alloys traditionally processed by conventional procedures have often proved to be unprintable with additive technology, so the design and development of new tailored Al-based alloys for PBF-LB/M production is necessary. The aim of the present work is to explore all the challenges encountered before, during and after the PBF-LB/M processing of Al-based alloys, in order to critically analyse the solutions proposed in the literature and suggest new approaches for addressing unsolved problems. The analysis covers the critical aspects in the literature as well as industrial needs, industrial patents published to date and possible future developments in the additive market.

show abstract

Section: Pre-processingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ongoing Challenges of Laser-Based Powder Bed Fusion Processing of Al Alloys and Potential Solutions from the Literature—A Review

2023

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This method has been widely applied in the literature for a preliminary tuning of P and v [27,28]. In addition, an innovative algorithm implemented in a previous author's work [29] was used to quickly discharge parameters unsuitable for the bulk production. This algorithm is able to identify the most suitable P-v combinations by discarding the noncontinuous scans and considering the SSTs quality.…”

Section: Pbf-lbm Productionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the present study, a wide range of P-v combinations was explored and reported in figure 4. The parameters not able to guarantee adequate bulk densification were rapidly discarded on the basis of on-top SST morphologies [29]. In particular, in figure 4, the conditions in which SSTs with strong discontinuities were obtained are marked in red and the conditions with low-quality indexes are indicated in orange.…”

Section: Laser-powder Interaction Study With Single Scan Tracksmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improvement in the PBF-LB/M processing of the Al-Si-Cu-Mg composition through the use of pre-alloyed powder

Martucci

Gobber

Aversa

et al. 2023

Mater. Res. Express

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Among the many additive manufacturing technologies for metals, Powder Bed Fusion-Laser Beam (PBF-LB\M) stands out for its capacity to produce complex-shaped functional parts. However, the PBF-LB\M materials portfolio is still limited and the research into new high-performance Al-based alloys is ongoing. The improved properties with the addition of 4 wt% Cu to the AlSi10Mg alloy have been previously investigated in the literature through the in-situ alloying approach in which the starting powders of Cu and AlSi10Mg are mechanically mixed and directly processed. However, inhomogeneities of alloying elements were found in samples produced with mixed AlSi10Mg+4Cu powders. To overcome this issue, the use of pre-alloyed AlSI10Cu4Mg powder obtained via gas atomisation process could be a powerful solution. With the aim of demonstrating the beneficial effects of pre-alloyed AlSi10Cu4Mg powders in laser-powder interaction, preliminary SEM investigations were conducted on cross-sectioned SSTs and bulk samples after optimising the process parameters. The microstructural investigations conducted on pre-alloyed AlSi10Cu4Mg samples revealed a higher homogeneity of alloying elements, a smaller cell size of the Al-Si-Cu network (0.5 vs 0.8 µm) and a slightly smaller mean diameter of equiaxial grains compared to the mixed AlSi10Mg+4Cu ones (6.01 vs 7.34 µm). Moreover, looking closer at the supersaturation level and the precipitation behaviour in pre-alloyed AlSi10Cu4Mg composition, a high solid solution level, a massive presence of Al2Cu in the cell network and only a few finely dispersed Al2Cu precipitates within the cells were found. Exploring the benefits of these microstructural features on mechanical properties, an increase in performance of about 18 % in micro-hardness tests and more than 10 % in tensile and compressive tests were found in the AlSi10Cu4Mg system with respect to the mixed AlSi10Mg+4Cu system. All the thorough investigations proved how using pre-alloyed powders is an important advantage in the PBF-LB/M production of complex Al-based systems.

show abstract

“…To identify the power (P) and scan speed (v) values suitable for the bulk production and minimizing the time and powder needed, the SST approach was used. In order to further accelerate this first fine-tuning stage of the P and v parameters, a software developed by the authors in a previous work was used [30]. This software is able to identify the most suitable Pv combinations by discarding the noncontinuous scans and considering the SST quality just with a fast image analysis of the on-top morphology.…”

Section: Pbf-lb/m Productionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Cu Content on the PBF-LB/M Processing of the Promising Al-Si-Cu-Mg Composition

Martucci

Bassini

Lombardi

2023

Metals

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Over the past few years, several studies have been conducted on the development of Al-Si-Cu-Mg alloys for PBF-LB/M processing. The attention gained by these systems can be attributed to their light weight and strength provided by a solid solution in the as-built state and by precipitation after heat treatment. However, published studies have kept the copper content below its solubility limit in the Al-Cu binary system under equilibrium conditions (5.65 wt%). The present study aims to explore Al-Si-Cu-Mg systems with high copper content, starting with the well-known AlSi10Cu4Mg system, moving towards AlSi10Cu8Mg, and arriving at AlCu20Si10Mg, a system never before processed with PBF-LB/M. Through the SST approach, the production of bulk samples, advanced microstructural characterization by SEM and FESEM analysis, phase identification by XRD analysis, and preliminary investigation of the mechanical properties through Vickers micro indentations, the effects of copper quantities on the processability, microstructural properties, and mechanical behavior of these compositions were investigated. The obtained results demonstrated the benefits of the supersaturated solid solution and the fine precipitation resulting from the addition of high Cu contents. In particular, the AlCu20Si10Mg system showed a very distinctive microstructure and unprecedented microhardness values.

show abstract

An Automatic on Top Analysis of Single Scan Tracks to Evaluate the Laser Powder Bed Fusion Building Parameters

Cited by 4 publications

References 17 publications

Ongoing Challenges of Laser-Based Powder Bed Fusion Processing of Al Alloys and Potential Solutions from the Literature—A Review

Ongoing Challenges of Laser-Based Powder Bed Fusion Processing of Al Alloys and Potential Solutions from the Literature—A Review

Improvement in the PBF-LB/M processing of the Al-Si-Cu-Mg composition through the use of pre-alloyed powder

Effect of Cu Content on the PBF-LB/M Processing of the Promising Al-Si-Cu-Mg Composition

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About