THE EFFECT OF BEAM SPOT SIZE ON MELT POOL GEOMETRY IN DIRECT METAL ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING PROCESSES

摘要

In laser or electron beam direct metal additive manufacturing, characteristics of the individual melt pool and therefore final parts are a product of a variety of process parameters. The spot size or beam diameter of the heat source is a geometric parameter that directly impacts melt pool dimensions and part quality. A finite element model was developed to simulate the effects of various spot sizes on melt pool dimensions across different processes and alloys. Changes in melt pool geometries for different spot sizes are related across the alloys and processes. Experiments support the simulations and give insight into optimal spot sizes needed to yield consistent deposition results.