Abstract
The design flexibility offered by the newest additive manufacturing technologies is attracting the attention of the automotive industry for the realization of safety-relevant components. However, the realization of complex geometries is characterized by the use of support structures which sustain surfaces with downskin angles lower than 45°. The subsequent removal of these punctual joints leaves the surface irregular and with a large amount of defects. In this work, the effect of surface imperfections on the cyclic stress–strain behavior of additively manufactured metals is evaluated. Small-scale specimens are manufactured by selective laser melting of AlSi10Mg powder. The specimens are manufactured using different build orientations, part of them are left as-built while the surface of other specimens has been polished. Incremental step tests are carried out in order to evaluate the cyclic stress-strain behavior of this material.