There is tremendous benefit in developing and qualifying novel alloys specifically designed to take advantage of unique microstructures produced with additive manufacturing (AM) processes. The bottleneck in such a development is the speed and cost of developing optimum print parameters to produce defect-free parts—as well as understanding the nuanced details that impact material quality in the laser powder bed fusion (PBF) process. Current parameter development schemes involve characterizing hundreds of coupons over multiple builds and can be a slow and expensive process. Additionally, recent developments in on- and off-axis monitoring—fused with machine health and geometry data—creates a rich environment of information that is often not well matched with traditional characterization approaches alone.
In this study, Zeiss presents leveraging a novel automated solution to comprehensively evaluate the effect of print parameters and process signatures on AlSiMg components coupled with a range of on and off-axis monitoring, machine health and geometry data. The solution presented also addresses a key challenge in creating a harmonized environment for answering fundamental questions regarding the laser PBF process. In addition to creating this environment, the rapid parameter development process can also aid in increasing the speed and economy of additive manufacturing to make the process cost competitive to the traditional manufacturing process.
