SME CAM2 - Porous printed steel - Industrial Applications using PBF-EB for performance improvements and cost efficiency

Important results from the project

The project was conducted within the fram of the CAM2 Competence center. The goal of the project was to see if we could create controlled porosity in a 3D printed steel component and how this porosity could be controlled by variations of process parameters. The project gave the expected results and the desired porosity was successfully produced. Systematic variations of four process parameters enabled the successful printing of test cubes with different pore densities and morphologies. Porosity up to 15% was achieved.

Expected long term effects

By investigating the effect of four EBM parameters on melt stability and control of pore size, shape and distribution, the understanding of the mechanisms behind pore formation is deepened. The knowledge enables mapping of process windows and potential for optimizing porosity as a functional design variable. This opens up new functional areas of application. The results show that PBF-EB/M is a useful method for producing locally porous steel with a high degree of adjustability.

Approach and implementation

The project was divided into WP1 and WP2. In WP1 two process parameters were varied and in WP2 complexity was increased to four parameters. Samples were printed and examined with a light optical microscope (LOM) and analyzed with software ImageJ. Several experiments were conducted to investigate how different process parameters affected pore formation. The project focused on four main process parameters that have an impact on porosity: scan speed, hatch rotation, focus offset and line offset.