Prozessoptimierung des SLM-Prozesses mit hoch-reflektiven und thermisch sehr gut leitenden Materialien durch systematische Parameterfindung und begleitende Simulationen am Beispiel von Silber

Abstract

Additive manufacturing by melting of metal powders is a method that has been established even for the manufacturing of final products. In particular, Selective Laser Melting (SLM) is currently applied for prosthetic dentistry. In the near future, this technology will access sensitive industries like aerospace engineering. This leads to the need to process new materials. Therefore, especially non-ferrous metals and noble metals must be determined and qualified. These materials have in common a very high reflectivity and an excellent thermal conductivity. In general, these two properties counteract the control of the melt pool and contribute to very narrow process windows. The “SLM” research team of the Aachen University of Applied Science, AcUAS (FH Aachen) systematically investigated process parameter fields for silver. The work focused on a small SLM desktop machine with comparably low laser power. The results are verified using FEA and metallographic inspections and will support future set-ups for complex geometries. Furthermore, the obtained parameter fields are applied to make different geometric objects and to manufactured parts, which are presented.