Today, metallic components are manufactured using Laser Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-LB/M) in a mostly uniform and high-quality manner, even though there are different application-specific requirements and the highest quality is not required in all component areas.
A promising approach to make laser additive manufacturing in the powder bed more efficient is a demand-adapted process control with build rate-optimized parameters. By applying local process parameter sets, the desired properties can be selectively adjusted according to the requirements profile. The process-related limitation of this approach is the local temperature profile, which leads to a property gradient. This is alloy-dependent and manifests itself over the component height and is influenced by the geometry.
In order to achieve consistent properties in different components and component areas, the temperature profile must be considered in the process. Using different sample geometries, the process-property relationships for the material AlSi10Mg and AlSi3,5Mg2,5 are examined with regard to porosity, microstructure, hardness, and precipitation formation. Thermal influences on these characteristics are largely known from the investigation of post-processing heat treatments. Based on the known correlations, it should be possible to draw conclusions about the thermal history of the investigated component areas and to assess the extent to which intrinsic heat treatment effects occur.
Initial results indicate an influence by a geometry-dependent temperature profile. Thermographic images of the production process enable a correlation between process parameters, temperature profile and resulting properties. The aim is to assign process parameters depending on geometry and load, considering the complex interactions between material, parameters, geometry and mechanical load.