Effect of parameters on quality of IN718 parts using laser additive manufacturing

The objective of this study is to determine the effect of process parameters such as laser power, scanning speed and layer thickness on the mechanical properties, microstructure and fracture mechanism of Inconel 718 using laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing process. Full factorial design, regression modelling and response surface methodology are used to optimise the process parameters. The highest tensile strength occurs at 350 W laser power, 1300 mm/s scanning speed and 30 µm layer thickness. The optimal parameters for multi-objective optimisation are identical to those used for single-objective optimisation for tensile strength. The difference between the predicted and actual tensile strength is 0.33%. This work shows a successful methodology using IN718 superalloy for various applications in aerospace industry.