A Two Dimensional Analytical Evaluation of Thermal Fields during Metal Laser Sintering Processes

Metal Laser Sintering (MLS) is a laser based manufacturing technique which is used for fabrication of parts in a layer-by-layer fashion using fine metal powders. Parts fabricated using MLS find wide applications in a myriad of areas such as medical, dental, and aerospace industries due to the availability of high geometric complexity, density, and their thermomechanical performance in service. A number of computational studies have been conducted in the past to help understand various underlying mechanisms related to laser melting and reconsolidation in order to arrive at strategies for better and faster machine architectures and process parameters combinations which result in stronger and longer-lasting parts.  

As intellectual property barriers fall, due to expiring patents and more competitors licensed to produce machines, the desire to produce better next-generation machines is increasing. In addition there is a parallel realization that the industry needs better ways to develop new materials and control schemes for MLS processing. In order to achieve these goals, in this study we will provide an insight into the various thermo-mechanical phenomena which occur during MLS by providing a brief update on computational studies in the literature followed by the derivation of an efficient fully analytical framework for this problem. A two dimensional example is provided illustrating various aspects of this formulation which will be modified for a full 3 Dimensional formulation and implementation in the future to achieve the above-mentioned goals.