Experimental Study on the Effect of Process Parameters on the Build Time and Part Accuracy of Direct Metal Laser Sintering Components

Abstract

3D printing is an emerging technology that creates parts straight from CAD models. Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) is a 3D printing method that is becoming increasingly popular in the aerospace, medical, and orthopedics sectors. These are usually focused on precise, long-lasting, and lightweight parts. DMLS is an Additive Manufacturing (AM) technique that employs a laser to sinter a selected area of a metallic powder layer by layer to produce the required metal components. The heating power of the laser was discovered to have a strong effect on phase formation. The major issue with this process is that high residual and large deformations are introduced to the components during manufacturing. This causes a change in the fatigue strength of a part and can even lead to cracks. The quality of the DMLS parts is affected by various process parameters. In this study, the design of experiments is used to investigate the consequences of process parameters used in the DMLS process to make metal parts. Process parameters such as laser power and scanning speed must be identified because they have the largest influence on the part's characteristics. (Build time, part accuracy). The change in the controlling parameters, or process parameters, in the DMLS method, has been found to affect material properties, according to a literature review. Thus, in the proposed work, three process parameters laser speed, scanning speed, and hatching distance are taken into account at two distinct levels. L4 orthogonal arrays are used in the studies. Experimental research is done on the manufacturing process, build time and component accuracy. Finally, the impact of each parameter on the quality aspects is discussed based on the experimental findings.