Influence of exposure time on energy consumption and mechanical properties of SLM fabricated parts

Abstract

Purpose

Many process parameters in selective laser melting (SLM) can be configured to optimize build time, which directly relates to energy consumption, and to achieve acceptable part quality. This study aims to investigate whether energy can be effectively reduced with acceptable mechanical properties. The influence of exposure time is primarily focused to correlate energy consumption to mechanical properties.

Design/methodology/approach

Through single-factor design and experiment result analysis, three levels of exposure time were examined in fabricating two sets of sample parts, for energy analysis and mechanical property tests. Manufacturing power profile was measured online, and four mechanical properties, tensile, flexural, torsional strengths and part density, were investigated. A graphical growth rate tendency (GRT) plot is proposed to jointly analyze multiple variables.

Findings

Energy consumption increases in fabricating a same part with the increase of exposure time in the tested range, but exposure time was found to influence build power rather than build time in the given SLM system. Mechanical properties do not increase linearly, and grow at different rates. It is found that within the tested range, increased energy consumption brought to a small improvement of part density, but a notable improvement of tensile strength and maximum torque.

Practical implications

Producing quality SLM parts can be energy-effective through quantitative study. The proposed GRT plot is an intuitive visual aid to compare the growth rates of different variables, which offers more information to additive manufacturing practitioners.

Originality/value

In this research, energy consumption and mechanical property are jointly analyzed for the first time to advance the knowledge of energy-effective SLM fabrication. This helps additive manufacturing technology to be truly energy-efficient and environmental-friendly.

Citation

Peng, T., Xu, S., Zhang, H. and Zhu, Y. (2018), "Influence of exposure time on energy consumption and mechanical properties of SLM fabricated parts", Rapid Prototyping Journal, Vol. 24 No. 9, pp. 1428-1435. https://doi.org/10.1108/RPJ-05-2017-0078