AlSi10Mg in Powder Bed Fusion with Laser Beam: An Old and Boring Material?

Powder bed fusion with laser beam of metals (PBF-LB/M) is a widely used technology to produce parts with a high freedom in design paired with excellent mechanical properties. The casting alloy AlSi10Mg features a wide process window and a microstructure with excellent mechanical properties which are not obtainable through conventional manufacturing. One possibility for achieving this is by influencing the solidification which then directly affects the local part properties. In this study, the effect of different laser beam profiles with gaussian and top-hat intensity distributions, as well as the influence of varying parameter sets on the microstructure and microhardness within the same specimen, was examined. A test specimen consisting of many small cubes was built with different parameters. It was found that the local properties can be varied in a wide range. Build-height-dependent in-situ aging effects can thereby be exploited for tailoring the local material properties. Thus, an extra degree of freedom is added to the design of additively manufactured parts.