Factors Affecting the Manufacturing Quality of Laser Powder Bed Fusion

In the study of laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) technology, researchers found that about 130 factors will affect the final manufacturing quality of LPBFed parts. The following factors play a decisive role, which are materials (material category, particle size distribution, fluidity, etc.), laser and optical system (laser type, laser mode, wavelength, power, spot size, etc.), scanning strategy (scanning speed, scanning strategy, scanning hatch space, slice thickness, etc.), the external environment (humidity, oxygen content, etc.), machinery (whether the metal powder layer is uniform or not, the accuracy of motor movement of the manufacturing cylinder, motor stability of the powder laying device, etc.), geometric characteristics (addition of support, different shapes, different placement, etc.), as shown in Fig. 2.1.