Additive manufacturing (AM) technologies, such as fused deposition modeling (FDM) or laser powder bed fusion (LPBF), are increasingly used in the industry to produce models, prototypes or small series. Due to the layer-by-layer build-up of the parts, a high degree of geometric freedom is possible without the need for special tools or molds, enabling cost- and time-efficient manufacturing. One of the most common LPBF processes is selective laser melting (SLM) which is used for the fabrication of metallic parts by selectively melting and fusing metal powders with a high-energy laser beam according to the CAD data of the part. For example, titanium-, aluminum-, or iron-based alloys are widely used in the medical, aerospace and automotive industries. With increasing usage of SLM in the industry, wider fields of application are considered. For instance, metal-matrix-composites (MMCs) are commonly used in high-strength applications and tooling. The combination of a metallic matrix with ceramic particles enables targeted adjustment of material properties, such as stiffness, wear resistance, strength, or functionalization of the material, as for example the creation of abrasive properties.
Aluminum/SiC composites have been successfully integrated in aerospace and automotive fields due to their high specific strength, excellent thermal conductivity and strong wear resistance. However, traditional manufacturing, such as casting or powder metallurgy, limits the possible geometrical shapes and functionality of the products, which would be significantly improved using AM. Our studies describe manufacturability and resulting microstructure of AlSi10Mg/SiC composites with varying volume fraction of SiC using SLM, as well as the existing challenges.