An innovative Fast Layer-wise Simulation of Temperature distribution using a Chessboard Strategy (FALS TECHS) in the powder-bed fusion process

The thermal evolution of a printed part plays a crucial role in the ultimate quality of components that are produced using powder-bed fusion (PBF) processes. Temperature distribution throughout an exposure-layer can be employed as a significant proxy to optimize the process parameters and explore the effects of different scan strategies on the thermal evolution of the fabrication process. Nevertheless, previous works have not provided any technique to simulate the temperature distribution throughout a layer with freeform complex geometry and in actual size. This conspicuous lack is predominantly due to the high computational cost of existing simulation techniques. This paper introduces a Fast Layer-wise Simulation of Temperature distribution using a Chessboard Strategy or FALS TECHS in the PBF process. This innovative technique simulates the temperature distribution throughout the layers of a freeform shape using actual dimensions in a fraction of computational time achieved by previously reported methods. The developed capability assists designers in the modification of scanning strategies according to the geometry of the exposure-layer to achieve a uniform temperature distribution, thus, reducing the residual stress throughout the printed layer. Furthermore, the technique helps to optimize the process parameters of the scanning strategy. We investigated the accuracy of the methodology by comparing simulation results with experimental thermal images. The results show a close correspondence between the two.

Automated summary

The thermal evolution of printed parts in PBF processes is crucial for component quality, but simulating temperature distribution in layers with complex geometry remains a challenge due to high computational costs.