Microstructural study on a Fe-10Cu alloy fabricated by selective laser melting for defect-free process optimization based on the energy density

Abstract Process optimization for the selective laser melting (SLM) of the Fe-10Cu alloy was performed to obtain defect-free parts based on the energy density for thermodynamically complete melting. A microstructural study was conducted for the corresponding energy densities that focused on identifying defect formation mechanisms. A range of defects formed via by diverse mechanisms, such as lack of fusion, balling, shrinkage and the key-hole effect, were characterized, including mixed zones. The process range in which these defects were not formed could be suggested as the optimal conditions for SLM of the Fe-10Cu alloy. In this study, a laser power below 320 W, a scan speed below 1523 mm/s and an energy density under 15.56 J/mm3 were indicated to be the optimum process conditions for SLM of Fe-10Cu alloy to avoid micro-cracks from shrinkage, balling and rounded pores from the key-hole phenomenon.