Laser melting characterization for H13-steel 3D printing

Abstract

Selective laser melting is one of the important 3d printing process for its capability of the complex shape production for metal part. H13 steel is one of the difficult metal material to fabricate due to its high hardness, thus selective laser melting process can be efficiently applied for its net-shape production. However, selective laser melting improper process condition results in pores inside printed part and it degrade the hardness of H13 steel component. We hereby studied the characteristic behavior of H13 steel laser melting with computational and experimental approach. Re-melting process of single, triple and quintuple was compared and triple times of laser scanning exposure showed the lowest amount of pores and highest hardness. Our characteristic study can be usefully employed for development of H13 component via selective laser melting process. Copyright © 2018 by Nanyang Technological University.