Yi Zhu
Zhejiang University, China
Title: Influence of processing parameters on the energy consumption and mechanical properties of selective laser melted parts
Biography
Biography: Yi Zhu
Abstract
In selective laser melting (SLM), processing parameters are of a great importance which aff ects the amount of laser energy absorbed by metal powders. On one hand, the mechanical properties of the processed part depend on them. On the other hand, processing parameters also aff ect power profi le and scanning time, which directly relates to electrical energy consumption. In this research, we investigate the correlation between electrical energy consumption and mechanical properties and study whether electrical energy can be eff ectively reduced without signifi cantly compromising mechanical properties by optimizing processing parameters. 316L stainless steel was used as powder materials. Two key parameters, laser power and exposure time, were selected and several mechanical properties, including density, hardness, wear resistance, tensile strength, flexural strength and torsional strength, were tested. Th e results of electrical energy consumption and mechanical properties were jointly analyzed using growth rate comparison. It was found that the improvement of various mechanical properties with increased electrical energy consumption diff ers greatly. Density can be eff ectively increased without signifi cantly increasing the electrical energy, but the electrical energy needs to be greatly increased in order to achieve a high fl exural strength. Growth rate three-dimensional maps of mechanical properties and electrical energy consumption are presented as a reference for processing parameter optimization.