Product Code: ICAL07_P528

Dimensional and Metallurgical Characterization of Free-Formed Colmonoy 227-F Samples Obtained by Laser Radiation
Authors:
Andrea Angelastro, Politecnico Di Bari; Bari Italy
Antonio Domenico Ludovico, Politecnico Di Bari; Bari Italy
Giuseppe Casalino, Politecnico Di Bari; Bari Italy
Sabina Luisa Campanelli, Politecnico Di Bari; Bari Italy
Presented at ICALEO 2007

Direct Laser Metal Deposition (DLMD) and Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) are actually the most growing techniques in the group of Material Accretion Manufacturing (MAM) processes because of the possibility to fabricate and to repair a wide range of metal components with a complex geometry, starting from metal powders. DLMD is a technology which combines with computer aided design, laser cladding and rapid prototyping. Fully dense metallic parts can be directly obtained through melting coaxially fed powders with a laser. In SLS a thin layer of powder is deposited on the surface of a substrate and the powder surface is scanned with a high power energy laser beam. In this work a comparison between the two above processes was performed. Experimental tests were conducted to study the effect of the main parameters involved in the processes (laser power, scanning speed, specific energy) on the final quality of the manufactured parts in terms of adhesion, porosity, surface roughness and the probability of crack. A fitting equipment was built and used for the experiments together with a CO2 laser machine with a maximum power of 3 kW. The material investigated was Colmonoy 227-F on a substrate of AISI 304.