Spatter formation during laser beam melting of AlSi10Mg and effects on powder quality

Cost and resource efficiency of Laser Beam Melting (LBM) highly depend on powder recycling procedures. Non-solidified powder can be sieved and reused in subsequent build cycles. However, due to quality concerns, powder recycling is not commonly practiced. One effect, which can impair the powder quality, lies in the formation and insertion of spatter particles during the melting process. In this paper, spatter particles emerging during LBM of AlSi10Mg are characterized regarding geometric (size, morphology), chemical (alloy composition, oxygen content, oxide layer thickness) properties as well as mass. Spatter particles are collected during the process using two isolation methods. Three types of spatter particles can be differentiated by their formation mechanism. It is found that spatter particles can differ significantly in oxide layer thickness and particle size. A significant share of spatter particles can be segregated by sieving. However, a certain fraction of the spatter particles will be included in the recycled powder.