Spatter formation during laser beam melting of AlSi10Mg and effects on powder quality

M. Lutter-Günther, M. Bröker, T. Mayer, S. Lizak, C. Seidel, G. Reinhart

Research output: Contribution to journalConference articlepeer-review

42 Scopus citations

Abstract

Cost and resource efficiency of Laser Beam Melting (LBM) highly depend on powder recycling procedures. Non-solidified powder can be sieved and reused in subsequent build cycles. However, due to quality concerns, powder recycling is not commonly practiced. One effect, which can impair the powder quality, lies in the formation and insertion of spatter particles during the melting process. In this paper, spatter particles emerging during LBM of AlSi10Mg are characterized regarding geometric (size, morphology), chemical (alloy composition, oxygen content, oxide layer thickness) properties as well as mass. Spatter particles are collected during the process using two isolation methods. Three types of spatter particles can be differentiated by their formation mechanism. It is found that spatter particles can differ significantly in oxide layer thickness and particle size. A significant share of spatter particles can be segregated by sieving. However, a certain fraction of the spatter particles will be included in the recycled powder.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)33-38
Number of pages6
JournalProcedia CIRP
Volume74
DOIs
StatePublished - 2018
Externally publishedYes
Event10th CIRP Conference on Photonic Technologies, LANE 2018 - Furth, Germany
Duration: 3 Sep 20186 Sep 2018

Keywords

  • Additive manufacturing
  • AlSi10Mg
  • Laser beam melting
  • Oxidation
  • Powder bed fusion
  • Powder quality
  • Powder recycling
  • Powder reuse
  • Reusability
  • Spatter

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