MODELING AND SIMULATION OF SELECTIVE LASER MELTING PROCESS AND PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS 3D-PRINTED

Abstract

The world is moving towards a fully computerized manufacturing, where additive manufacturing would play an important role in that technological revolution. Also, in this computer age, material research and design have known a wide-spread adoption of simulation in order to minimize time and means wasted using the try-and-error method. In this work, we present our efforts towards the development of a reliable and computationally effective model to simulate Selective Laser Melting (SLM) process using finite element codes. A combination of ray-tracing, Radiation Transfer Equation and absorption measurements has been used to establish an analytical equation, which gives a more accurate approximation of laser energy deposition in powder-substrate configuration. The use of that model ensured a good combination of computational efficiency and fidelity. Various applications to studying properties of printed materials are discussed, and efficient tools are proposed to help SLM users even without prior experience in modelling and simulation.