Laser polishing of selective laser melted components

Marimuthu, Sundar; Triantaphyllou, Andrew; Antar, Mohammad; Wimpenny, D. I.; Morton, Harry; Beard, M. A.

doi:10.1016/j.ijmachtools.2015.05.002

Cited by 238 publications

(89 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Laser polishing (LP) is an emerging technique that has shown potential to reduce the surface roughness of metal components [20][21][22][23]. It uses a laser beam to re-melt a thin surface layer and subsequently smooths the surface roughness by exploiting surface tension in the melt pool ( Figure 2); i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Material interactions in laser polishing powder bed additive manufactured Ti6Al4V components

Tian

Góra

Cabo

et al. 2018

Additive Manufacturing

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Laser polishing (LP) is an emerging technique with the potential to be used for post-build, or in-situ, precision smoothing of rough fatigue-initiation prone surfaces of additive manufactured (AM) components. LP uses a laser to re-melt a thin surface layer and smooths the surface by exploiting surface tension effects in the melt pool. However, rapid resolidification of the melted surface layer and the associated substrate thermal exposure can significantly modify the subsurface material. This study has used an electron beam melted (EBM) Ti6Al4V component, representing the worst case scenario in terms of roughness for a powder bed process, as an example to investigate these issues and evaluate the capability of the LP technique for improving the surface quality of AM parts. Experiments have shown that the surface roughness can be reduced to below Sa=0.51 µm, which is comparable to a CNC machined surface, and high stress concentrating defects inherited from the AM process were removed by LP. However, the re-melted layer underwent a change in texture, grain structure, and a martensitic transformation, which was subsequently tempered in-situ by repeated beam rastering and resulted in a small increase in sub-surface hardness. In addition, a high level of near-surface tensile residual stresses was generated by the process, although they could be relaxed to near zero by a standard stress relief heat treatment.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Material interactions in laser polishing powder bed additive manufactured Ti6Al4V components

Tian

Góra

Cabo

et al. 2018

Additive Manufacturing

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show abstract

“…Macrostructure smoothing can be achieved by applying continuous wave (cw) laser radiation, this process is known as laser polishing (LP) and it is mainly focused on improving the surface quality of AM components via demolishing surface asperities. Although several attempts have been made to examine the effects of laser polishing and the resulting surface roughness, there has been no detailed and thorough investigation of the effect of process parameters on the generated surface, to enable prediction and optimisation of the process responses [10][11][12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of process parameters on surface texture generated by laser polishing of additively manufactured Ti-6Al-4V

Solheid¹,

Elkaseer

Wunsch

et al. 2020

Laser-Based Micro- And Nanoprocessing XIV

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Although there have been numerous attempts to define how different laser polishing parameters affect the generated surface roughness, there has been no detailed investigation of how their effects can be combined to optimize the process. This paper applies statistical analysis to model and predict the resulting surface roughness for laser post-processing of components made of Ti-6Al-4V and produced by laser powder bed fusion. This model is based on analysis of a wideranging experimental programme investigating how the interaction of the governing parameters, i.e., laser power, number of repetitions, axial feed rate, scanning speed, and focal position, affected surface roughness. The experimental programme was the result of a robust Design of Experiments analysis and experimental analysis using ANOVA. It is expected that the outcomes will contribute towards the understanding of how the governing parameters influence the laser polishing process and final surface roughness, and would be a tool for optimizing their selection. The results of the ANOVA (analysis of variance) revealed that the most significant parameters are scanning speed followed by laser power and then axial feed rate. In addition, a clear tendency for the estimated Ra to decrease with the increase in laser power at lower values of axial feed rate and of scanning speed, and a focal position in the region of 2 mm. It is noted that the process parameters were varied over wide ranges, including extreme values, which made it difficult to accurately model the dependent variable over the full range of experimental trials.

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“…Ukar et al presented a methodology to predict surface topography on laser polished surfaces with good agreement in experimental validation on DIN 1.2379 tool steel and reduced the surface roughness from Ra 7.5 µm to 1.49 µm [9]. Marimuthu et al investigated the surface polishing of titanium (Ti) components fabricated by SLM with the surface roughness reduced from 10.2 µm to 2.4 µm [10]. Wang et al built a surface prediction model for thermocapillary regime pulsed laser micro polishing (PLµP) and the model was verified by area polishing of the titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V and S7 tool steel and the predicted average surface roughnesses were within 15% of the measured values [11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Material Characterization, Thermal Analysis, and Mechanical Performance of a Laser-Polished Ti Alloy Prepared by Selective Laser Melting

Wang

et al. 2019

Metals

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The laser polishing technique offers an adaptable, accurate, and environmentally friendly solution to enhance the surface quality of additive manufactured metallic components. Recent work has shown that the surface roughness of laser additive manufactured metallic alloys can be significantly reduced via the laser polishing method. This paper examines the mechanical performances of a laser polished surface fabricated by selective laser melting (SLM). Compared with the original SLM surface, systematic measurements revealed that the surface roughness of the laser polished surface can be effectively reduced from 6.53 μm to 0.32 μm, while the microhardness and wear resistance increased by 25% and 39%, respectively. Through a thermal history analysis of the laser polishing process using the finite element model, new martensitic phase formation in the laser polished layer is carefully explained, which reveals significant effects on residual stress, strength, and fatigue. These findings establish foundational data to predict the mechanical performance of laser polished metallic components fabricated by additive manufacturing methods, and pave the way for functional surface design with practical application via the laser process.

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Laser polishing of selective laser melted components

Cited by 238 publications

References 24 publications

Material interactions in laser polishing powder bed additive manufactured Ti6Al4V components

Material interactions in laser polishing powder bed additive manufactured Ti6Al4V components

Effect of process parameters on surface texture generated by laser polishing of additively manufactured Ti-6Al-4V

Material Characterization, Thermal Analysis, and Mechanical Performance of a Laser-Polished Ti Alloy Prepared by Selective Laser Melting

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