Published in Journal of Industrial Engineering and Robotics, Volume 4, Number 3
Written by POPESCU George
Scientific coordinators: Daniel GHICULESCU, Riccardo CASATI

The term of „additive manufacturing” refers to the technology that grow three-dimensional objects, one superfine layer at a time. Each successive layer bonds to the preceding layer of material. Different materials can be used, ranging from metal powder, ceramics, composites, to glass or even edibles materials. Objects are digitalized into CAD models that are used to create the .stl files. These will be sliced into thin layers and used by the machine to define the printing process. Going from .stl file to 3D is a revolutionizing manufacturing. Without the need of intermediary steps like creation of molds or dies, there is also a decrease in the production cost. Several AM techniques have been developed during recent year, two main categories being Direct Metal Deposition (DMD) and Powder Bed Fusion (PBF). This paper is focused on the Powder Bed Fusion category, more specific on the Selective Laser Melting process. The aim is to optimize the printing parameters for AlSi10Mg by printing simple geometry samples with different process parameters and evaluate the relative density of the specimens.

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