In light of the rapid development of additive manufacturing technologies, this study explores the additive manufacturing of an AlSi10Mg mirror for potential application in aerospace engineering. An additively manufactured mirror consisting of AlSi10Mg must demonstrate high-dimensional stability to maintain its surface accuracy. This study investigates the origin of the anisotropy of AlSi10Mg, fabricated by selective laser melting (SLM), by analyzing its microstructure using metallographic microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The microstructure of AlSi10Mg fabricated by SLM is analyzed relative to the build and scan directions. In addition, the effect of heat treatment on the microstructure, inherent anisotropy, tensile strength, elongation, hardness, and thermal expansion of AlSi10Mg fabricated by SLM is studied. Heat treatment effectively reduces the inherent anisotropy of AlSi10Mg fabricated by SLM. Moreover, the surface accuracy of a heat-treated, additively manufactured mirror consisting of AlSi10Mg is stable, that is, minimally affected by thermal cycling. This study can inform further research on dimensionally stable, additively manufactured AlSi10Mg parts and the development of metal mirrors.
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