Untersuchungen zum automatisierten Entstützen SLM-gefertigter Bauteile

Abstract

A major challenge to economical use of Laser Beam Melting (Selective Laser Melting - SLM) in industrial serial production is the high manual effort for the removal of support structures. According to the state of the art, the support structures are generally removed manually from the part. However, this causes a great expenditure of time as well as expense and therefore isn’t suitable for serial production. One approach for the automation of support removal is the chemical ablation (etching). As a result of this work it could be proven that the method is suitable for the complete removal of support structures made of AlSi10Mg independently of the component geometry. Furthermore it contributes to the smoothing of the component surfaces.