Surface Feature Characteristics of Laser Powder Bed Fusion of Nickel Super Alloy 625 Bulk Regions

Published

June 1, 2022

Author(s)

Jason Fox, Romaine Isaacs, Aarush Sood, Paul Brackman, Brigid Mullany, Edward Morse, Angela Allen, Edson Santos, Christopher Evans

Abstract

Coherence scanning interferometry (CSI) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) surface inspection of additively manufactured nickel super alloy 625 reveal features over a broad range of length scales beyond those typically reported. High resolution measurements show micrometer-scale dendritic periodicity over 10's-of-micrometers length scales, often with a circular geometry. Larger-than-anticipated solidified melt tracks are observed near laser path turnarounds, presumably resulting from fusion of adjacent melt pools and cooling rate differences. The dendritic texture variability directly indicates microstructure variation, and further microstructure variation is likely correlated with the melt pool variation, as well. This raises concerns about final material properties and homogeneity.

Proceedings Title

Procedia CIRP

Conference Dates

June 8-10, 2022

Conference Location

Lyon, FR

Conference Title

6th CIRP Conference on Surface Integrity

Pub Type

Conferences

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2022.03.083

Local Download

Keywords

additive manufacturing, laser powder bed fusion, surface metrology

Citation

Fox, J. , Isaacs, R. , Sood, A. , Brackman, P. , Mullany, B. , Morse, E. , Allen, A. , Santos, E. and Evans, C. (2022), Surface Feature Characteristics of Laser Powder Bed Fusion of Nickel Super Alloy 625 Bulk Regions, Procedia CIRP, Lyon, FR, [online], https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2022.03.083, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=933943 (Accessed October 13, 2025)