Effects of design parameters on surface roughness of additively manufactured thin-walled structures

Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.18416/JAMTECH.2212692

Additive manufacturing (AM) has enabled the production of complex geometries that are not possible to be manufactured through traditional subtractive methods. Among the AM technologies, laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) process has gained considerable attention in many engineering industries due to its capability to fabricate complex parts with intricate details. Especially, its importance is moreevident for complex structures with thin walls in the aviation industry. Moreover, many aerospace parts have complex internal channels with thin walls, which may not be accessible for secondary machining operations and hence they must be additively manufacturedas-built. Therefore, the surface roughness of additively manufactured thin-wall structures is thoroughly depended on the AM process used. The surface roughness of additively manufactured parts could have big influence on the mechanical properties ofthe end-product. In this study, thin-wall Cobalt-Chrome (CoCr) specimens are fabricated using LPBF and the effects of process parameters such as wall thickness, build angle, and angle of the laser incidence on the surface roughness are investigated. For that purpose, the surface topologies of manufactured specimens are analysed using an optical profilometer and the relationship between the control parameters and standard surface roughness metrics is presented.