Removability of support structures in laser powder bed fusion of Ti-6Al-4V

In laser powder bed Fusion of metals, support structures are required for successful manufacturing to support overhangs, anchor the part to the build platform and dissipate heat generated in the process. These support structures are not part of the final component and must be removed, thereby increasing processing time and material consumption as the support structures cannot be directly recycled. A key factor regarding this is the machining time, as the removal of the support structures is often still done manually today. In order to minimise the time required, the design of the support structures was investigated with regard to the factors influencing the (manual) removability, so that the support structures can be further optimised to this end. Experimental investigations were performed by using polygonal geometries with regard to the removability. The specimens were loaded for bending manually and with the help of a bending testing machine. The influence of the moment of resistance on the removability could be demonstrated by the experiments. Furthermore, the direction from which the support structures should be removed also plays a significant role. Therefore, the direction-based removal should optimally already be considered in the design phase.

Subjects

Support structures

Ti6Al4V

laser powder bed fusion

additive manufacturing

DDC Class

620: Engineering

Options

Removability of support structures in laser powder bed fusion of Ti-6Al-4V