Manipulation of microstructure in laser additive manufacturing

In this paper, additive manufacturing (AM) of tungsten parts is investigated by using femtosecond fiber lasers. For the first time, manipulating microstructures of AM parts is systematically investigated and reported. Various processing conditions are studied, which leads to desired characteristics in terms of morphology, porosity, hardness, and microstructural and mechanical properties of the processed components. Fully dense tungsten part with refined grain and increased hardness was obtained for femtosecond laser, compared with parts made with different pulse widths and CW laser. Micro-hardness is investigated for the fabricated samples. This can greatly benefit to the make of complicated structures and materials that could not be achieved before.