Porosity Inducing Process Parameters in Selective Laser Melted AlSi10Mg Aluminium Alloy

Abstract: Additive manufacturing techniques areknown for the unrivalled geometric freedom they offer todesigners. It is one of the mainstays of “metal 3D-printing”,compared to casting, which, in contrast, implies morerestrictions because some shapes do not cool evenly or may needmoulds or forms. Despite the possible presence of defects insideadditive manufactured components, such as oxide films, pores orunmelted powder, they can be strongly reduced or controlled byprocess parameters optimization. That seems not true for acasting component, in which defects can vary a lot from zone tozone according to the solidification conditions. Porosityinducing process parameters in selective laser melted AlSi10Mgaluminium alloy are carefully analysed with the aim to findoptimal conditions that guarantee the maximum material densityand the best mechanical properties. Finally, a model is proposedthat correlates the amount of pores with the alloy ultimatetensile strength.