Powder characterisation techniques and effects of powder characteristics on part properties in powder-bed fusion processes

TLDR

Powder‑bed fusion additive manufacturing builds complex parts by fusing successive powder layers, and as the field moves toward end‑use production, reliable part quality hinges on understanding powder properties. This review surveys common powder‑characterisation techniques and examines how powder attributes influence part properties in powder‑bed fusion. The authors compile and discuss scanning electron microscopy, laser light diffraction, X‑ray photoelectron spectroscopy, differential thermal analysis, and related methods used to assess particle morphology, chemistry, and microstructure.

Abstract

Powder-bed fusion is a class of Additive Manufacturing (AM) processes that bond successive layers of powder to facilitate the creation of parts with complex geometries. As AM technology transitions from the fabrication of prototypes to end-use parts, the understanding of the powder properties needed to reliably produce parts of acceptable quality becomes critical. Consequently, this has led to the use of powder characterisation techniques such as scanning electron microscopy, laser light diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and differential thermal analysis to study the effect of powder characteristics on part properties. Utilisation of these powder characterisation methods to study particle morphology, chemistry, and microstructure has resulted in significant strides being made towards the optimisation of powder properties. This paper reviews methods commonly used in characterising AM powders, and the effects of powder characteristics on the part properties in powder-bed fusion processes.