TY - CONF A1 - Mohr, Gunther A1 - Altenburg, Simon A1 - Hilgenberg, Kai T1 - On the limitations of small cubes as test coupons for process parameter optimization in laser powder bed fusion of metals N2 - The capability to produce complexly and individually shaped metallic parts is one of the main advantages of the laser powder bed fusion (PBF LB/M) process. Development of material and machine specific process parameters is commonly based on results acquired from small cubic test coupons of about 10 mm edge length. Such cubes are usually used to conduct an optimization of process parameters to produce dense material. The parameters are then taken as the basis for the manufacturing of real part geometries. However, complex geometries go along with complex thermal histories during the manufacturing process, which can significantly differ from thermal conditions prevalent during the production of simply shaped test coupons. This may lead to unexpected and unpredicted local inhomogeneities of the microstructure and defect distribution in the final part and it is a root cause of reservations against the use of additive manufacturing for the production of safety relevant parts. In this study, the influence of changing thermal conditions on the resulting melt pool depth of 316L stainless steel specimens is demonstrated. A variation of thermo-graphically measured intrinsic preheating temperatures was triggered by an alteration of inter layer times and a variation of cross section areas of specimens for three distinct sets of process parameters. Correlations between the preheating temperature, the melt pool depth, and occurring defects were analyzed. The limited expressiveness of the results of small density cubes is revealed throughout the systematic investigation. Finally, a clear recommendation to consider thermal conditions in future process parameter optimizations is given. T2 - Icaleo 2023 CY - Chicago, IL, USA DA - 16.10.2023 KW - Additive manufacturing KW - Heat accumulation KW - Thermal history KW - In situ monitoring KW - Representative specimens KW - Thermography PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-58656 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Mohr, Gunther A1 - Altenburg, Simon A1 - Hilgenberg, Kai T1 - On critical shifts of the process window due to heat accumulation in laser powder bed fusion N2 - Safety-critical applications of products manufactured by laser powder bed fusion (PBF-LB/M) are still limited to date. This is mainly due to a lack of knowledge regarding the complex relationship between process, structure, and resulting properties. The assurance of homogeneity of the microstructure and homogeneity of the occurrence and distribution of defects within complexly shaped geometries is still challenging. Unexpected and unpredicted local inhomogeneities may cause catastrophic failures. The identification of material specific and machine specific process parameter windows for production of fully dense simple laboratory specimens is state of the art. However, the incorporation of changing thermal conditions that a complexly shaped component can be faced with during the manufacturing process is often neglected at the stage of a process window determination. This study demonstrates the tremendous effect of changing part temperatures on the defect occurrence for the broadly used stainless steel alloy AISI 316L. Process intrinsic variations of the surface temperature are caused by heat accumulation which was measured by use of a temperature adjusted mid-wavelength infrared (MWIR) camera. Heat accumulation was triggered by simple yet effective temporal and geometrical restrictions of heat dissipation. This was realized by a variation of inter layer times and reduced cross section areas of the specimens. Differences in surface temperature of up to 800 K were measured. A severe development of keyhole porosity resulted from these distinct intrinsic preheating temperatures, revealing a shift of the process window towards unstable melting conditions. The presented results may serve as a warning to not solely rely on process parameter optimization without considering the actual process conditions a real component is faced with during the manufacturing process. Additionally, it motivates the development of representative test specimens. T2 - The 76th IIW annual assembly and international conference on welding and joining CY - Singapore DA - 16.07.2023 KW - Additive manufacturing KW - Laser powder bed fusion KW - Laboratory specimens KW - Process parameter optimization KW - Heat accumulation KW - Keyhole porosity KW - Infrared thermography PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-58023 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -