1. Selective laser melting of an Al-Si-Mg-Cu alloy: feasibility and processing aspects
- Author
-
Antonio Caraviello, Antonello Astarita, Irene Del Sol, Roberta Della Gatta, Della Gatta, R., Del Sol, I., Caraviello, A., and Astarita, A.
- Subjects
0209 industrial biotechnology ,melting ,Materials science ,alsi10mg ,Alloy ,02 engineering and technology ,engineering.material ,Selective ,01 natural sciences ,Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering ,law.invention ,power ,020901 industrial engineering & automation ,law ,0103 physical sciences ,General Materials Science ,Selective laser melting ,010302 applied physics ,density ,Mechanical Engineering ,Metallurgy ,proce ,Laser ,slm ,laser ,mixture ,parameter ,Mechanics of Materials ,Fluidized bed ,Scientific method ,engineering ,cu ,✚ ,energy - Abstract
A customized Al-Cu-Mg-Si alloy is successfully processed by selective laser melting. AlSi10Mg powder, used as a master alloy, has been mixed with pure Cu powder through a fluidized bed and the obtained powder mix was used as feedstock material for the printing process. To investigate the feasibility of the process and to discuss the effect of the process parameters, a two-step experimental campaign has been carried out: in the first batch of experiments the energy density has been varied to frame the processing window while in the second batch the energy density has been kept constant and the main process parameters have been varied to highlight their influence on the process. Density, porosity, and microhardness have been chosen as output to evaluate the success of the process. The microstructure and composition phase were studied through scanning electron microscopy and X-ray elemental mapping, respectively. A maximum relative density of 97% has been obtained while a predominant role of the laser beam power has been observed.
- Published
- 2021