Scanning space analysis in Selective Laser Melting for CoCrMo powder

Selective Laser Melting has been one of the last generation technologies of additive manufacturing. So far, one of the major problems confronted by researchers and designers has been the standardization of the optimal parameters. The setting of the appropriate parameters can lead to the acquisition of the desired characteristics in terms of morphology, porosity, hardness, and mechanical properties of the final piece. Therefore, the objective of this work is to study the scanning space that allows the formation of a continuous layer of material through the modification of the process parameters. Experiments were carried out in a self-develop SLM machine using CoCrMo powder as material. The experimental results showed that small separation between tracks provided a good overlapping while with higher separations, such as 750 mu m, isolated tracks were produced. Furthermore, other process parameters involved in the morphology of the tracks were identified and the overlapping estimated. (C) 2013 The Authors. Published Elsevier Ltd.