Solidifying Behaviour of Metallic Powder in Selective Laser Melting Process

Abstract To evaluate metallic powders for fabrication of three dimensional models by the selective laser melting process, single scanning on the powder bed of several kinds of metals is conducted and the solidified tracks are classified. The metallic powders which solidify in continuous line with round and crescent cross sections can produce dense models and are suitable for SLM. The powders resulting in continuous line with V-shaped cross section, such as Cu and Fe, can be formed into three dimensional models with low density. The solidified tracks made with Al and stainless steel powders are discontinuous and inadequate for SLM. To improve the solidifying behaviour of Al and Cu powders, low vacuum and powder mixture are examined and effective for improvement of formability in SLM.