Using Finite Element Analysis in the 3D Printing of Metals

Over the last few years, Additive Manufacturing, or as it is sometimes known, 3D printing, has become a significant research field for researchers worldwide. The necessity to increase the strength of materials and minimize their weight in the automotive and aviation industries has urged engineers and scientists to conduct more investigations and identify manufacturing methods to replace the classical ones. Additive manufacturing involves building a geometry layer by layer from a wide range of materials, which helps to utilize materials efficiently while minimizing the amount of waste produced as well as build complex, large geometries and light-weight components. Furthermore, it minimizes fabrication and processing times. In this paper, three different alloys were printed (TiAl6V4, AlSi10Mg and 316L) using MSC Simufact software to investigate the effect of changing machines on the effective stress and surface deviation. Furthermore, thermal analysis as well as mechanical, thermal and thermomechanical calibrations were carried out to determine a parameter set consisting of the laser power, inherent strains, fraction of exposure energy and volumetric expansion factor.