Process parameter development and optimization for the Scalmalloy® alloy in the additive manufacturing of aircraft applications

Additive manufacturing offers great potential in the aircraft sector due to its high degree of design freedom and new material developments such as Scalmalloy®, a light aluminum alloy with high mechanical properties. Related works show a lack of knowledge about the additive manufacturing of Scalmalloy®, so this paper aims to identify optimal process parameters. A design of experiment is performed, and the hardness, tensile strength, and surface roughness are measured. After that, design parameters are investigated. With the optimized process parameters, a density of 99.87 % is achieved. The hardness is 168.5 HV0.3, and the tensile strength is 541.7 MPa after thermal treatment. Surface roughnesses between 19 and 49 Ra are measured depending on the build direction. Minimum manufacturable dimensions are defined for walls, cylinders, and inclination angles. The identified process parameters and the characterization of mechanical properties deliver fundamental knowledge to enable the utilization of Scalmalloy® for aircraft applications.