Effective prediction of residual stress and distortion of artificial knee joints by selective laser melting

Selective laser melting (SLM) is an enabling additive manufacturing technology to fabricate complex parts such as metallic orthopedic implants. The rapid heating melting and cooling thermal cycle during SLM often induce high residual stress which leads to part distortion or even cracks. To predict residual stress with accuracy and efficiency, this work has developed an innovative modeling approach by incorporating the scanning strategy. The results have shown that residual stress can be predicted with improved accuracy using the modeling approach with scanning strategy accounted in the simulations.

Automated summary

Selective laser melting (SLM) is an additive manufacturing technology used to fabricate complex parts, such as metallic orthopedic implants. However, the rapid heating and cooling cycles during SLM can lead to high residual stress, causing part distortion or cracks. This study has developed an innovative modeling approach that incorporates scanning strategy to predict residual stress with improved accuracy.