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Statistical analysis of spatter velocity with high-speed stereovision in laser powder bed fusion

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Abstract

As unprecedented design freedom is realized through additive manufacturing and simultaneously as the diversity of materials improves to include high-performance metals, aerospace and biomedical applications demand improved quality control measures. In the context of additive manufacturing, new opportunities for in situ monitoring are now possible with a qualify-as-you-go layer-by-layer methodology. In this study, a pair of low-cost, high-speed cameras recording the selective laser melting of maraging steel was synchronized to measure stereoscopic features of the resulting spatter. Through epipolar geometry, accurate measurements were calculated of the age, speed and direction of thousands of spatter events. Statistical analysis was performed focusing on spatter velocity with the driving hypothesis that velocity can be correlated to the weld quality and eventually leveraged in real-time process control. Opportunities, future work, and challenges are discussed.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the Friedman Endowment for Manufacturing at Youngstown State University. This effort was performed in part through the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining under the America Makes Program entitled “Maturation of Advanced Manufacturing for Low Cost Sustainment (MAMLS)” and is based on research sponsored by Air Force Research Laboratory under agreement number FA8650-16-2-5700. The U.S. Government is authorized to reproduce and distribute reprints for Governmental purposes notwithstanding any copyright notation thereon.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Youngstown State University, Youngstown, OH, 44555, USA

    Christopher Barrett, Carolyn Carradero, Evan Harris, Eric MacDonald & Brett Conner

  2. Youngstown Business Incubator, Youngstown, OH, 44503, USA

    Kirk Rogers

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  1. Christopher Barrett
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  2. Carolyn Carradero
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  3. Evan Harris
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Correspondence to Christopher Barrett.

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Barrett, C., Carradero, C., Harris, E. et al. Statistical analysis of spatter velocity with high-speed stereovision in laser powder bed fusion. Prog Addit Manuf 4, 423–430 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40964-019-00094-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40964-019-00094-6

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