Towards Full-scale Prediction Of Printability Maps And Melt Pool Dimensions: Combining Experimental Studies With Process Simulations

The next big hurdle to large-scale industrialisation of AM is the ability to simulate the process accurately. A FEM based AM module developed by Thermo-Calc is presented which estimates both thermodynamic and thermophysical properties from thermodynamic databases to simulate the PBF process. The solver can account for phenomena such as fluid flow, keyhole formation and absorptivity. Calculations provide the user with information about temperature-time variation along meltpools and printability maps. In this study, we printed samples for 316L stainless steel and Al-HS1 with volumetric energy density (VED; J|mm3) from 20-166 and 16-211 respectively. The resulting thermal conductivity was measured to validate accuracy of thermophysical properties. Moreover, this study validates melt pool dimensions in extremes of processing windows and overlay the resulting porosity with the simulated printability maps. Benefit of this study will be in validating the accuracy of simulation tools to help in industrial implementation of AM processes.