Investigations on a standardized process chain and support structure related rework procedures of SLM manufactured components

Abstract

For the successful production of high quality parts by selective laser melting, various process steps are required. Besides the SLM process itself, different pre- and rework steps are needed to produce a final component. Therefore, the first part of this paper presents a concept of a standardized process chain for carrying out the necessary planning and production procedures. For this purpose, the CAD-model is enriched with information regarding support structures, the desired surface quality and the position of tooling points. Since major steps in the reworking procedure are the removal of residual powder, the removal of support structures and the finishing operations for functional component surfaces, selected experimental results concerning these steps are presented in the second part of the paper. Based on the result, recommendations for the design of support structures are given.