Enhancing powder bed quality in laser powder bed fusion: A review of monitoring, data processing, and adaptive control strategies

Powder bed quality is a fundamental determinant in metal Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF), as it significantly contributes to the mechanical properties, density, and surface finish of fabricated components. Achieving consistent, high-quality powder layers is essential to ensure part integrity and optimize manufacturing outcomes. This review consolidates recent advancements in evaluating and improving powder spreading techniques to enhance powder bed quality within LPBF processes. Key areas of focus include the influence of powder characteristics, recoater dynamics, and layer uniformity on powder bed quality, along with metrics for evaluating these factors. Emerging powder bed monitoring technologies and data processing techniques are examined for their ability to detect and mitigate powder bed anomalies in real time, potentially improving process control. Additionally, adaptive control mechanisms for recoating parameters are discussed, highlighting their role in dynamically optimizing layer uniformity. By synthesizing research on powder bed evaluation and control strategies, this review underscores the critical role of precise powder spreading in achieving consistent part quality and identifies promising directions for future LPBF research. These insights contribute to the development of adaptive systems poised to improve process reliability and broaden the applications of LPBF in metal additive manufacturing.