Investigation of process parameters and their influence on laser sintered AlSi10Mg alloy

The present work is carried out for a better understanding between process and property relationships in AlSi10Mg laser sintering used for fabrication and design of high-quality metal parts using additive manufacturing techniques. The research aims to investigate in understanding the variations in process parameters (laser power, scanning speed and hatch spacing) that affect the microstructure, elemental distribution and mechanical properties of laser sintered AlSi10Mg alloys. The laser sintering process was carried out with laser power levels ranging from 330 W to 400 W, scanning speeds between 1000 mm/s and 1400 mm/s and hatch distances from 0.10 mm to 0.25 mm. The results specified that a laser power of 370 W, a scanning speed of 1200 mm/s and a hatch distance of 0.15 mm are the optimal processing conditions. This is due to the reasonable particle fusion, improved densification, better crystallinity, reduced porosity and better mechanical properties. The excessive laser power leads to the thermal distortions and surface irregularities, while low power resulted in incomplete sintering and high porosity on the manufactured surface. The optimal settings also developed sharper XRD peaks with lower full width at half maximum (FWHM), indicating reduced lattice strain and refined grain structures.