Quantifying Laser Absorptivity of Ti–6Al–4V Powder through Additive Manufacturing Systems

Abstract

In laser metal-based powder-bed fusion additive manufacturing, it is important to know the laser absorptivity of metal powder to elucidate or optimize the manufacturing process and numerical simulation. Laser absorptivity depends on the manufacturing process conditions and the circumstances of the additive manufacturing machine. Therefore, we tried to develop a simple method of measuring laser absorptivity under the same circumstances present in the manufacturing process by using a commercially available additive manufacturing machine.

Schematic of experimental setup and laser absorptivity measured for titanium alloy Ti–6Al–4V.