Influence of the Temperature in the Direct Forming Laser Process of 316L Stainless Steel with CO2 Laser

Abstract

This study shows the influence of the temperature in the Direct Forming Laser process (DFL) of 316L stainless steel metal powder. Results shows that an increasing in the sample surface temperature can improve the laser beam absorption in the DFL process. A pre-heating in the substrate and in the powder contributed to decrease the time to reach the melting point and to improve the surface roughness. This effect was investigated with constant lasers parameters (scanning speed and intensity) and a heating in the samples in the temperature range of 20oto 200oC. It was possible to evaluate the DFL process and to optimize the quality of the sample surface roughness. These results will benefit the knowledge of the DFL technology that can be applied in the development of turbine blades.