To address the challenges of printing quality and dimensional accuracy in the fabrication of TC11 titanium alloy thin-walled components via laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF), this study systematically optimized the L-PBF process parameters and investigated the printing limits of thin-walled structures, providing theoretical and practical guidance for high-precision manufacturing. First, single-factor experiments were conducted to examine the effects of laser power, scanning speed, and hatch spacing on relative density. Subsequently, response surface analysis was performed using a Box–Behnken design to establish a predictive model with relative density and surface roughness as the response variables, enabling multi-objective parameter optimization. Based on the optimized parameters, a series of thin-walled structures with varying wall thicknesses were fabricated, the resulting printing defects were analyzed, and a mathematical model correlating wall thickness with limiting printing height was established. The response surface model exhibited excellent statistical significance, with an F-value of 0.9930 and a p-value of less than 0.0001, indicating a highly reliable fit. The coefficient of determination (R2) of the model was 0.9889, while the adjusted R2 and predicted R2 were 0.9747 and 0.9146, respectively, confirming the model’s good predictive capability. The optimal process parameters obtained through the model were a laser power of 190 W, a scanning speed of 1100 mm/s, and a hatch spacing of 0.10 mm. Validation experiments conducted under these conditions yielded a deviation of only 5.33% between the predicted and experimental comprehensive scores, demonstrating the accuracy of the model. A key achievement of this study is the establishment of a piecewise mathematical model relating wall thickness to limiting printing height: a cubic polynomial for wall thicknesses in the range of 0.2 ≤ t ≤ 0.5 mm (h=107.5t3−161.5t2+106.7t−5.86) and a quadratic polynomial for wall thicknesses in the range of 0.5 ≤ t ≤ 0.8 mm (h=− 0.25t2+34.89t+3.17). This model enables accurate prediction of the formability of thin-walled structures.
Wang et al. (Fri,) studied this question.