EXTENSIVE RESEARCH APPROACH IN POWDER BED-BASED ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING

The core of this research has until 2023 concerned with developing a fundamental understanding of the links between the powder bed fusion (PBF) processes – microstructure – properties. But in order for these results to facilitate robust and reliable manufacturing of components with sufficient material quality, additional knowledge and competence are needed.

This includes new in-line monitoring- and process-control- systems and variables as well as the development of a system that can handle all generated data in a smart and efficient way, to be able to calculate important corrective measures and feed this back into the process to ascertain maintained material quality throughout the whole build. 
  
The following research questions are linked to the research being pursued at HV today:  

• Increase our understanding of how process parameters affect building speed, defects, homogeneity, microstructure, etc., in laser as well as electron beam powder bed AM.  
• Increase our understanding of how post-processing, such as heat treatment and hot isostatic pressing, influence microstructure and properties.  
• Identification and evaluation of methods that facilitate reliable and adaptive process control.  
• Development of non-destructive testing methods for detecting and characterising defects, for measuring and analysing surface topography, and with linkage to control of the material’s quality.
• Development of physically based simulation models for predicting both microstructure development and accumulated residual stresses linked to observations of temperature history.
• Development of the capability that facilitates the calculation and prediction of properties in AM-built material based on microstructure and defect populations.