Evaluation of Select Surface Processing Techniques for In Situ Application During the Additive Manufacturing Build Process

Although additive manufacturing offers numerous performance advantages for different applications, it is not being used for critical applications due to uncertainties in structural integrity as a result of innate process variability and defects. To minimize uncertainty, the current approach relies on the concurrent utilization of process monitoring, post-processing, and non-destructive inspection in addition to an extensive material qualification process. This paper examines an alternative approach by evaluating the application of select surface process techniques, to include sliding severe plastic deformation (SPD) and fine particle shot peening, on direct metal laser sintering-produced AlSi10Mg materials. Each surface processing technique is compared to baseline as-built and post-processed samples as a proof of concept for surface enhancement. Initial results pairing sliding SPD with the manufacture's recommended thermal stress relief cycle demonstrated uniform recrystallization of the microstructure, resulting in a more homogeneous distribution of strain among the microstructure than as-built or post-processed conditions. This result demonstrates the potential for the in situ application of various surface processing techniques during the layerwise direct metal laser sintering build process.