Selective Laser Melting (Laser Powder Bed Fusion, L-PBF) is an additive manufacturing process particularly suited for the production of geometrically complex metal components in larger quantities. At Fraunhofer IAPT, we develop innovative solutions to increase productivity for this technology, qualify new materials, and provide support in the field of powder analysis. Developments in this area are always considered within the context of the entire process chain to transfer innovations into industrial use as quickly as possible.
Process Description
In selective laser melting (Laser Powder Bed Fusion, L-PBF), a three-dimensional solid object is produced layer by layer by selectively melting a previously applied metallic powder material using one or more lasers. These melted regions fuse with the previously generated component layers to form a cohesive structure. Once the exposure process within a layer is complete, the component is lowered by a predefined layer height (usually between 20-100 µm), new powder material is applied, and the laser is directed according to the new layer data to melt the material. This enables the production of highly complex components with significantly superior properties. Typical potentials that can be exploited include lightweight construction, flow optimization, and the integration of various functions into a single component, to name just a few. The resulting material properties are comparable to, or in some cases even superior to, those of conventional manufacturing processes.