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Comparison with Blue and IR Laser for Inconel Fabrication in Selective Laser Melting
keywords:
light absorption
blue diode laser
slm
inconel
Inconel has been used in many industrial components such as a blade of gas turbine because of having its high creep strength and high corrosion resistance. The gas turbine for next generation requires more complex shape to improve the performance. A selective laser melting (SLM) method is one of additive manufacturing (AM) technologies, which is suitable for making metal objects with complex shape rapidly. The AM for metals is a fabrication method that enables direct modeling of three-dimensional (3D) products from a metal powder based on 3D-CAD data. The AM method using a laser as a heat source is classified as selective laser melting (SLM) technology. In SLM, the powder absorbs the laser energy to heat. Then the powder melts and solidifies to form a single layer. Generally, IR lasers with a wavelength of around 1 um are employed in SLM process. Recently, a high-power blue diode laser has been developed. Blue and IR lasers have different light absorption rates for Inconel, which may affect samples fabricated with SLM.
In this study, 3D fabrication of Inconel was demonstrated by the blue and IR laser, respectively to compare with the process and mechanical property. As a result, high efficiency and fine object was obtained with blue laser.