Figure - available from: The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology
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Multi-layers and single-track thin walls prepared by SLM corresponding to the minimum scanning time tmin = 0 s: (a) and (b) under l = 30 μm; (c) and (d) under l = 60 μm
Source publication
In applications requiring large specific surface area, ultrathin walls fabricated by selective laser melting (SLM) have attracted wide attention. Understanding that the geometric characteristics of ultrathin walls are affected by process parameters is an important topic. To investigate the influence of SLM process parameters on geometric morphology...
Citations
... It was reported that more than 130 process parameters had an impact on the performance of SLM-formed parts, of which about 13 parameters were crucial [17]. Among these, laser power and scan speed were considered as key parameters, while hatch spacing and layer thickness, which are closely related to laser energy density, were also worth considering [18]. Hong et al. [19] systematically investigated the impact on the performance of AlSi10Mg formed via SLM at different laser energy densities, which consisted of pore formation, microstructure and mechanical properties. ...
In recent years, much work related to the performance of AlSi10Mg manufactured by selective laser melting (SLM) has been extensively researched. However, the study of tribological performance caused by different laser energy densities is still insufficient. This work concentrates on the relationship between the wear resistance and laser energy density of AlSi10Mg processed using SLM. Moreover, XRD characterization, density, surface roughness and microhardness were also examined since they are closely related to wear resistance. The results revealed that the XRD pattern of AlSi10Mg was mainly composed of the α-Al and Si phases under the conditions of different laser energy densities. In addition, the peak of Mg2Si was also detected. Also, the grain size increased with the increasing of laser energy density. The increase in laser energy density led to an increase in the convection and porous phenomenon in the molten pool. However, when the value was lower, the overlapping area reduced, and the strength between adjacent melting paths was insufficient, resulting in the declination of the sample property. According to the experimental results, a laser energy density of 63.33 J/mm3 was considered to be a relative optimal condition. The relative density, Ra, microhardness and wear volume were 99.2%, 8.86 μm, 128.3 HV0.2 and 2.96 × 10−2 mm3, respectively. The worn surface morphology also confirmed the influence of laser energy density on wear resistance. A regression model was established and analyzed, which showed the reliability of the results. Furthermore, the tribological mechanism was also revealed.
... These parameters position the produced gears in the class of small module gears, which have smaller specific surface area and smaller convection and radiation heat dissipation resistance during cooling compared to typical module gears [28]. As with other manufacturing methods, where many process parameters influence the geometric quality of products [29][30][31][32], numerous factors influence the geometric deviations during plastic gear injection moulding, namely the employed processing equipment, material properties, mould structure, part shape, and injection moulding process parameters [33,34]. ...
Injection moulding is currently the most widely employed production method for polymer gears. Current standardised gear metrology methods, which are based on metal gear inspection procedures, do not provide the key information regarding the geometric stability of injection moulded gears and are insufficient for a thorough gear inspection. The study developed novel areal quality parameters, along with a so-called moulding runout quality parameter, with a focus on the injection moulding method. The developed parameters were validated on twenty-nine gear samples, produced in the same moulding tool using various processing parameters. The gears were measured using a high-precision structured-light 3D scanner. The influence of injection moulding process parameters on the introduced novel quality parameters was investigated. The developed moulding runout quality parameter proved to be effective in evaluating the shrinkage that can occur in the injection moulding process. The novel moulding runout parameter returned an average value of −21.8 μm in comparison to 29.4 μm exhibited by the standard parameter on all the gears, where the negative value points directly to mould shrinkages. The rate of cooling was determined to be the most influential factor for the shrinkage of the gear. The developed areal parameters demonstrated to be advantageous in characterising the deviations on the teeth more comprehensively.
For additive manufacturing (AM) applications of lightweight aluminum alloy parts such as radiators, it is necessary to understand the relationship between internal microstructure and local mechanical properties. The microstructure characteristics and its formation mechanism of AlSi10Mg ultrathin walls fabricated by selective laser melting (SLM) under different energy densities and interlayer cooling times were investigated, and its evolution regularity with energy density was also analyzed. The nano-mechanical properties of different regions on the ultrathin-walled cross-section and their responses with energy density were also explored. The main results show that non-banding regions and banding regions distributed alternately like sandwiches are formed in ultrathin walls, which have fine solidified cellular structure and columnar dendrite network, accompanied by nano-scale substructure formed in grains. Although the microstructure characteristics and nano-mechanical properties of ultrathin walls are insensitive to interlayer cooling time, the single-track energy density significantly affects the coarsening of solidification structure and its substructure evolution. With the increase of single-track energy density, the interaction between various strengthening mechanisms related to the evolution of microstructure comprehensively affects the nano-hardness of different macro-areas in ultrathin walls, which follows the trend of increasing first and then decreasing, and higher nano-hardness can be obtained when the dimensionless single-track energy density is between 10-20. The findings of this work are beneficial to optimize the SLM process of AlSi10Mg alloy to manufacture ultrathin-walled parts with ideal microstructure and mechanical properties for potential applications in aerospace, automotive and other fields.
