Influence of laser beam profile on the selective laser melting process of AlSi10Mg

Selective laser melting (SLM) offers great potential to manufacture customized and complex metallic parts. Major drawbacks that limit its industrial application are the high cost of the process that is related to low process speeds and issues with reproducibility. One important process parameter that has the potential to increase the reproducibility and speed of the process is the laser beam intensity profile. Since its influence has not been sufficiently investigated, the goal of this study is to analyze the effect of the beam profile on the SLM process of AlSi10Mg. Single tracks and density cubes are manufactured with different process parameters and two beam profiles (standard Gaussian and Donut beam profiles) and analyzed with respect to appearance, the size of melt tracks, porosity, and the types of defect. The results reveal several advantages of the Donut beam profile such as fewer defects and a significantly broader process window that promises a more robust process.