SELECTIVE LASER MELTING

MIHIR FOFARIA
 What is Selective Laser Melting?
• Selective Laser Melting (SLM) also known as Direct Metal Laser
Sintering (DMLS) or Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) is a rapid
prototyping, 3D printing, or additive manufacturing technique
designed to use a high power density laser to melt and fuse metallic
powders together.
 SLM V/S SLS
• Selective laser sintering is again an additive manufacturing technique
in which the material is sintered using laser where the material is not
completely melted but the powder is heated up to a limit after which
it can successfully fuse with other particles.
• Whereas, selective laser melting is used to produce metal parts by
heating the powder to the point where metal powder is fully melted
creating a homogeneous part.
 PROCESS
• In SLM, high powered 200 watt fiber optic laser is used for locally
melting the metal powder and further fusing it.
• The process starts with slicing the 3D CAD model into layers, usually
from 20 to 100 micrometers thick, creating a 2D image of each layer.
• Thin layers of atomized fine metal powders are evenly distributed
using a coating mechanism onto a substrate plate.
• This takes place inside a chamber containing a tightly controlled
atmosphere of inert gas, usually argon or nitrogen.
• Once each layer has been distributed, each 2D slice of the part
geometry is fused by selectively melting the powder.
 APPLICATIONS
• The type of application most suited to the selective laser melting
process are complex geometries and structures with thin walls and
hidden voids and channels.
• Much of the pioneering work with selective laser melting
technologies is on lightweight parts for aerospace.
• SpaceX have created regeneratively-cooled SuperDraco rocket engine
chamber using this technology.
• There are several other applications in field of medical, prototyping
and tooling.
 THERMAL DEFORMATIONS
TEMPERATURE GRADIENT MECHANISM:
• Rapid heating of the upper surface by laser beam and rather slow
heat conduction, steep temperature gradient develops.
• When the material yield stress is reached, the top layer will be
plastically compressed.
• During cooling and shrinkage, the plastically compressed upper layers
become shorter than the bottom layers and a bending angle towards
the laser beam develops.
DIFFERENT PROCESS TEMPERATURES:

Generally, cross-sections of the part are scanned with vectors parallel

to each other. If the area to be scanned is small, a short scan vector
length occurs.
• Adjacent tracks are scanned rapidly one after other, leaving little cool
down time in between thus resulting in high temperatures.
• Another reason for different process temperatures can be explained
by the difference in heat conductivity between the loose powder bed
and solidified material.
• This is especially the case for zones at corner of the part. At this
location, higher temperatures will be the result.
VARIOUS SCANNING STRATEGIES
VAPORIZING EFFECT:
• During laser melting the temperature of the exposed powder
particles exceeds the melting temperatures.
• A further increase in the temperature causes material to evaporate.
• When this phase transformation occurs, the rapidly moving
evaporated particles expand and generate a recoil pressure on molten
pool.
• At even higher incident intensities, the vapor interacts with laser
radiation, becomes ionized and plasma is formed.
• While low recoil pressure facilitate the flattening of melt in SLM, high
pressure cause material removal by melt expulsion.
TEMPERATURE PROFILE IN A Ti-6Al-4V
SUBSTRATE