Evaluation of Powder Layer Density for the Selective Laser Melting (SLM) Process

Abstract

In selective laser melting (SLM), powder properties like size, distribution, shape, flow, and packing have effects on the process and the final parts quality, and several standards and methods are available for representing these characteristics. However, these are not enough to explain the actual packing state of the particles across the powder bed substrate. This work reports a novel method for evaluation of the powder layer density in the SLM process. The results show that the powder characteristics measured by conventional methods are not always appropriate for determining whether a powder material is suitable for SLM.