From Powders to Dense Metal Parts: Characterization of a Commercial AlSiMg Alloy Processed through Direct Metal Laser Sintering

Abstract

In this paper, a characterization of an AlSiMg alloy processed by direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) is presented, from the analysis of the starting powders, in terms of size, morphology and chemical composition, through to the evaluation of mechanical and microstructural properties of specimens built along different orientations parallel and perpendicular to the powder deposition plane. With respect to a similar aluminum alloy as-fabricated, a higher yield strength of about 40% due to the very fine microstructure, closely related to the mechanisms involved in this additive process is observed.

Effect of Process and Post-Process Conditions on the Mechanical Properties of an A357 Alloy Produced via Laser Powder Bed Fusion

“…Metals 2017, 7, 68 3 of 9 in argon atmosphere with 30 μm layer thickness with the EOS stripe scanning strategy [26]. The building parameters, optimized in a previous work [20], are listed in Table 2, where P is the laser power, v is the scan speed, hd is the hatching distance and S is the stripe length.…”

“…The samples were built using an EOS M270 Dual Mode system (EOS GmbH, Krailling/Munich, Germany) which uses an ytterbium fiber laser with a power up to 200 W. All builds were carried out in argon atmosphere with 30 µm layer thickness with the EOS stripe scanning strategy [26]. The building parameters, optimized in a previous work [20], are listed in Table 2, where P is the laser power, v is the scan speed, h d is the hatching distance and S is the stripe length.…”

Laser Powder Bed Fusion of Aluminum Alloys

“…As observed in literature in previous studies [2,3,17,[21][22][23]] the L-PBF process is very complex from a physical point of view, due to the extremely rapid interaction between a concentrated laser source and micrometric metallic powders. This generates an extremely rapid melting and subsequent very fast solidification rate.…”

“…In particular, using the powders and the parameters described before, an increase of the YS of more than 30% with respect to the cast counterpart was observed [21]. Also the role of porosity represent the problem related to the mechanical properties.…”

The Influence of Selective Laser Melting Parameters on Density and Mechanical Properties of AlSi10Mg

“…The shape, size, particle distribution and powder chemical composition have a strong effect on the melting and fusing process. Powders with low oxygen, content high flow rate and high packing density are preferred [6][7][8][9] Aluminium-Silicon alloys are very light metal and owned a high strength, good weld ability and exceptional corrosion resistance. Due to their attractive combination of mechanical properties and high thermal conductivity, Al-Si alloys have been used in many industrial applications such as aerospace, automotive, and moulding industries [3,[10][11][12][13].…”