Manufacturing Knowledge: Model Instead of Experience, a Big Step Towards Reproducibility and First-Time-Right in the Production of Complex Component Geometries using PBF-LB/M

The cost structure and geometry freedom of laser powder bed fusion (PBF-LB/M) holds great potential for lightweight-capabilities, customization and on-demand manufacturing of metal parts. Obstacles currently exist in first time right manufacturing and reliable reproducibility under changing process conditions. Reasons are the many setting variables (laser parameters, process parameters, scan strategy) and disturbance variables (powder batch, operator, ambient conditions), which have a difficult to quantify influence on the quality characteristics of the component (warpage, surface roughness, porosity).Compared to the so far widespread experience based parameterization of the process, statistical modeling has great potential for describing and understanding quantitatively the effects of the setting- and disturbance variables on the quality characteristics. The influence of scan strategy and laser parameters on the warpage and surfaces of PBF-LB/M-components is evaluated on cantilever-like bridge specimens according to an optimized experimental plan. The relation between setting variables and quality characteristics is quantified in a linear model approach and its predictive power is evaluated.