Comparison of the processibility of gas- and plasma-atomized AlSi10Mg powders in laser based powder bed fusion

In addition to the process parameters, the properties of the metal powder in laser based powder bed fusion affect the process stability and the resulting part properties. In recent years, the variety of commercially available metal powders for additive manufacturing has increased. Nowadays, various powders made from different atomization processes are available. This study investigates how the powder properties and processability differ for commercially available gas- and plasma-atomized AlSi10Mg powders by analyzing the powder and resulting part properties. It is shown that even though the powder properties are different, high relative densities can be achieved in the same processing window.