3D METALLOGRAPHY OF AlSi10Mg COMPONENTS FABRICATED BY SELECTIVE LASER MELTING ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING (SLM-AM)

Additive Manufacturing is gaining vast attention globally, while being implemented in many industries. Utilizing the relatively new technology for the fabrication of complex-shape metal components requires a deep understanding of the effect of process parameters and the local melting and solidification cycles, which strongly affect the resulting microstructure and mechanical properties of the components. This study focuses on the structure anisotropy and defects inherent to the SLM-AM process, based on creating 3D metallographic sections of Al Si10Mg components. For this purpose, samples of different orientations were characterized by both optical and electron microscopy and images were combined to show a full metallographic image from all primary orthogonal reference plains of a unit volume of the material. The findings allow drawing conclusions regarding locations of increased defect density, improving building strategy knowledge and enhancement of professional expertise.