Spatter formation in selective laser melting process using multi-laser technology

This study demonstrates the significant role of recoil pressure in selective laser melting (SLM) process using multi-laser technology. High-speed photography is utilized to observe the formation mechanism, and also the behavior of spatter particles during SLM fabrication. A computational image analysis framework is developed to assess the size and the number of induced spatters. The morphology and the composition of spatters and their influence on the surface of the fabricated parts are determined. Unmelted regions, resulting from spatter deposition into the powder or the solidified layer, are found to be a detrimental type of defects on mechanical properties of SLM parts. This is followed by a discussion on demand for developing a meaningful process parameters optimization to enhance the mechanical properties of SLM products. (C) 2017 Published by Elsevier Ltd.