Thermal history and high-speed optical imaging of overhang structures during laser powder bed fusion: A computational and experimental analysis

Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is a powerful tool for additive manufacturing (AM) of metal components. However, fabricating components with overhanging features using LPBF remains a challenge. Overhangs suffer from dimensional inaccuracies, high surface roughness, and agglomerated material or dross. These parts often do not meet engineering requirements and are discarded and reprinted until requirements are met, or redesigned to avoid overhangs. Printing a flat overhang is especially challenging due to the long, unsupported powder bed that fosters material agglomeration and inhibits heat flux. Commercial LPBF machines use distinct laser parameters for the downskin layers in overhang regions. Downskin parameters for a given material are often selected by trial and error: printing many parts, changing the laser power and velocity parameters, as well as the number of layers to apply them. The impact of changing the laser parameters on the thermal history of a given layer and multiple layers is not well characterized or understood. This research uses thermal simulations, infrared (IR) imaging, and high-speed optical imaging to study the fabrication of flat overhang structures in 316L stainless steel. The thermal evolution of different downskin strategies on multiple layers is simulated with high fidelity thermal simulations and experimentally measured as the part is printed with carefully calibrated forward looking infrared (FLIR) imaging. Emissivity measurements are performed in a custom chamber under a range of conditions to accurately convert FLIR measurements to temperatures. The layer construction is also recorded with high-speed video to observe the powder bed, melt pool formation, and effects of material agglomeration. Parameter strategies that minimize layer-to-layer variations of the peak temperature, heating rate, and cooling rate are investigated to inform print conditions for overhang features.