Dimensional and metallurgical characterization of free-formed colmonoy 227-F samples obtained by laser radiation

Direct Laser Metal Deposition (DLMD) and Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) are actually the most growing techniques in the group of Material Accretion Manufacturing (MAM) processes because of the possibility to fabricate and to repair a wide range of metal components with a complex geometry, starting from metal powders. In this work a comparison between the two above processes was performed. Experimental tests were conducted to study the effect of the main parameters involved in the two processes (laser power, scanning speed, density of energy) on the final quality of the manufactured parts in terms of adhesion, porosity, surface roughness and cracks. A fitted equipment was built and used for the experiments together with a CO2 laser machine with a maximum power of 3 kW. The material used was the Colmonoy 227-F on a substrate of AISI 304.