Abstract
Additive manufacturing technology has advantages in building free shape parts and simplification of manufacturing process. In order to manufacture high quality parts, it is important to investigate the influence of not only the fabrication conditions but also powder characteristics on the properties of parts. In this research, the influence of powder particle morphology on the density, microstructure and mechanical properties of Al-10%Si-0.4%Mg alloy fabricated by laser-based powder bed fusion process at high power and high scan speed was investigated using two types of powders, i.e. non-spherical and spherical powders. As a result, the density of the as-built specimen of spherical powder was higher than that of the alloy of non-spherical powder. In the case of spherical powder, the relative density of the as-built specimen was 100% even at the high power and high scan speed fabrication condition. The microstructure of the as-built specimens of both powders exhibited anisotropic parallel to the building direction. The as-built specimens of both powders fabricated normal to the building direction showed more than 400 MPa in tensile strength and 4% in elongation.
