Impact of powder recoating speed on built properties in PBF-LB process

Paper in proceeding, 2022

In powder bed fusion laser-beam (PBF-LB), powder deposition parameters are not commonly adjusted for different materials. In this study, the recoater speed was varied from 150 mm/s to 500 mm/s to study its influence on processability of two different powders. The 420 steel powder possesses better flowability and higher packing density than Inconel 718 at different testing speeds. This is reflected on surface roughness (Sa): Inconel 718 samples show larger variations than 420 steel ones across different locations on the build plate and under different recoating speeds. This demonstrates the necessity of accounting for powder properties for robust PBF-LB processing.