Tribological properties of selective laser melted Al-12Si alloy

The effect of scanning strategy and heat-treatment on the tribological properties of Al-12Si fabricated using selective laser melting (SLM) were evaluated and compared with their cast counterparts (CC). The SLM sample shows a mesostructure and in addition, the microstructure consists of the Al rich cells surrounded by Si network in the fine cellular structure. Annealing leads to the precipitation of Si and disintegration of the cellular structure, resulting in the reduction of hardness. The as-prepared SLM specimens show the least wear rate compared to heat treated SLM and CC specimens. SLM specimens built with single melt (SM) and checkerboard (CB) scanning strategies have similar hardness, the wear rate of in the former is significantly higher due to high porosity in it.