Unsettled Topics on Surface Finishing of Metallic Powder Bed Fusion
Parts in the Mobility Industry EPR2021001
Laser and electron-beam powder bed fusion (PBF) additive manufacturing (AM)
technology has transitioned from prototypes and tooling to production components
in demanding fields such as medicine and aerospace. Some of these components
have geometries that can only be made using AM.
Initial applications either take advantage of the relatively high surface
roughness of metal PBF parts, or they are in fatigue, corrosion, or flow
environments where surface roughness does not impose performance penalties. To
move to the next levels of performance, the surfaces of laser and electron-beam
PBF components will need to be smoother than the current as-printed surfaces.
This will also have to be achieve on increasingly more complex geometries
without significantly increasing the cost of the final component.
Unsettled Topics on Surface Finishing of Metallic Powder Bed Fusion Parts
in the Mobility Industry addresses the challenges and opportunities
of this technology, and what remains to be agreed upon by the industry.
