Thermographic Measurements of the Commercial Laser Powder Bed Fusion Process at NIST

Published

December 5, 2016

Author(s)

Brandon M. Lane, Shawn P. Moylan, Eric P. Whitenton, Li Ma

Abstract

Measurement of the high-temperature melt pool region in the laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) process is a primary focus of researchers to further understand the dynamic physics of the heating, melting, adhesion, and cooling which define this commercially popular additive manufacturing process. This paper will detail the design, execution, and results of high speed, high magnification in-situ thermographic measurements conducted at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) focusing on the melt pool region of a commercial L-PBF process. Multiple phenomena are observed including plasma plume and hot particle ejection from the melt region. The thermographic measurement process will be detailed with emphasis on the 'measurability' of observed phenomena and the sources of measurement uncertainty. Further discussion will relate these thermographic results to other efforts at NIST towards L-PBF process finite element simulation and development of in-situ sensing and control methodologies.

Citation

Rapid Prototyping Journal

Volume

22

Issue

5

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1108/RPJ-11-2015-0161

Keywords

thermography, particle ejection, laser powder bed fusion, emissivity, additive manufacturing

Citation

Lane, B. , Moylan, S. , Whitenton, E. and Ma, L. (2016), Thermographic Measurements of the Commercial Laser Powder Bed Fusion Process at NIST, Rapid Prototyping Journal, [online], https://doi.org/10.1108/RPJ-11-2015-0161 (Accessed September 9, 2024)