Parameter analysis to correlate density with surface roughness and productivity in Powder Bed Fusion - Laser Beam (PBF-LB) of AlSi10Mg

This work investigates the development of manufacturing parameters and correlations of parts manufactured via PBF-LB with AlSi10Mg using Design of Experiments (DoE). The main goal of this research is to gain a comprehensive understanding of the parameter space and find correlations of relative density with surface roughness and productivity by considering laser powers up to 400 W. The influence of different process parameters, combined and represented as the Volumetric Energy Density (VED) is investigated. Here, a density of above 99.5 % could be achieved within a wide VED range of 40 - 188 J/mm³. The measured mean downskin surface roughness ranges from 12 - 68 μm depending on their overhang angle and measurement method, whereas the mean top upskin surface roughness ranges between 4 - 48 μm with different parameter combinations of laser power (P) and layer thickness (LT). The approach developed here enables the efficient development of suitable process parameters and reduces the optimization effort of the PBF-LB process through the rapid characterization of manufactured part quality in terms of density, which directly influences its mechanical strength.