Selective Laser Melting Of Copper Based Alloy On Steel: A Preliminary Study

Abstract

The constantly increasing requirements of critical engineering parts can often be satisfied through the use of different materials with unique properties. In an effort to realize the potential of multi-functional parts, a study on the melt track characteristics of a copper based alloy (HOVADUR® K220) deposited on 316L steel via Selective Laser Melting (SLM) has been conducted. Single-line melt tracks, processed using 3 different sets of laser parameters, were printed on top of copper based alloy of variable height. It was found that the widths of the line tracks decreased with the height of the copper alloy. When processed at an energy density of 262J/mm3 the width of the copper alloy line tracks decreased from an average of 332μm to 151μm as the layers of underlying copper alloy increased from 0 to 40. Extensive cracking was observed when excessive energy density was used on layers 1 to 6. All scan tracks are continuous with minor amounts of unmelted particles. Track stability is observed to decrease slightly at higher layers as the track width decreases.