Processing of Al-based composite material by selective laser melting: A perspective

Additive manufacturing (AM) processes like selective laser melting (SLM) have gained increasing attention due to their capability to produce materials with improved properties, added functionalities, and complex shapes. All types of materials including metals, alloys (metallic glasses, high entropy alloys, etc.), cermets, and composites are fabricated with the SLM process without much difficulty as compared with other AM counterparts. SLM processed materials often have improved mechanical properties due to the extreme processing conditions that lead to a fine microstructure. Composite materials are generally used to combine the properties of both the matrix and the reinforcement or to improve the properties of the matrix material. However, processing such composite materials by SLM led to several challenges. This is because the process parameter optimized for processing such materials is based on the defects and not on the melting point/solidification range. In many cases, a much higher temperature than the melting point is reached, and processing Al-based composites at such temperatures very often leads to matrixreinforcement interaction. In addition, the Al-based composite materials show improved hardness, but they fail miserably in tension (in terms of ductility). Hence, the present article investigates the pros and cons of processing composites by SLM. Copyright (c) 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the Third International Conference on Aspects of Materials Science and Engineering.

Automated summary

Additive manufacturing processes like selective laser melting (SLM) have gained attention for their ability to produce materials with improved properties and complex shapes. However, processing composites by SLM presents challenges such as defects in process parameters and matrix-reinforcement interaction due to high temperatures.