Abstract

The use of components fabricated by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) requires the development of processing parameters that can produce high-quality material. Manipulating the most commonly identified critical build parameters (e.g., laser power, laser scan speed, and layer thickness) on LPBF equipment can generate acceptable parts for established materials and moderately intricate part geometries. The need to fabricate increasingly complex parts from unique materials drives the limited research into LPBF process control using underutilized parameters, such as atmosphere composition and pressure. As presented in this review, manipulating atmosphere composition and pressure in laser beam welding has been shown to expand processing windows and produce higher-quality welds. The similarities between laser beam welding and laser-based AM processes suggest that this atmosphere control research could be effectively adapted for LPBF, an area that has not been widely explored. Tailoring this research for LPBF has significant potential to reveal novel processing regimes. This review presents the current state of the art in atmosphere research for laser beam welding and LPBF, with a focus on studies exploring cover gas composition and pressure and concludes with an outlook on future LPBF atmosphere control systems.

Department(s)

Materials Science and Engineering

Second Department

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Publication Status

Open Access

Comments

U.S. Department of Energy, Grant None

Keywords and Phrases

additive manufacturing; cover gas; laser powder bed fusion; pressure

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

1996-1944

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Final Version

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2024 The Authors, All rights reserved.

Creative Commons Licensing

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Publication Date

01 Nov 2024

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