Effect of build orientation on distortion of medical component fabricated via laser powder bed fusion: a numerical investigation

Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) process has recently gained significant attention across industries e.g., automotive, aerospace, and medical due to its capability to create high-performance metal parts with complex geometry. Nevertheless, because of the inherent complexity of thermal processes in the L-PBF process, the component distortion is frequently encountered. Distortion offers negative effect on dimensional and geometric deviation of the final component. The research study was conducted to explore the effects of build orientations on distortion and volume of support structure for a femoral component fabricated by the L-PBF process. A numerical investigation approach based on the inherent strain method (ISM). Results demonstrated that the build orientation plays a crucial role in determining distortion, and volume of support structure. Large distortion was observed near the interface between the built component and the support structure due to the difference in stiffness between the solid material and the support structure. The femoral component fabricated at a 90° rotation angle along the X-axis exhibited the lowest distortion, minimal support structure volume, and shortest build time because of smaller overhanging regions compared to other angles (X−0°, X−30°, X−60°, Y−30°, Y−60°, and Y−90° rotation angles). The findings are expected to be useful for the medical sector in fabricating high-performance medical components with minimal geometric deviations.