Additive manufacturing is a modern technique to produce parts with a complex geometry. However, the choice of the printing parameters is a time-consuming and costly process. In this study, the parameter optimization for the laser powder bed fusion process was investigated. Using state-of-the art multi-objective Bayesian optimization, the set of the most-promising process parameters (laser power, scanning speed, hatch distance, etc.), which would yield parts with the desired hardness and porosity, was established. The Gaussian process surrogate model was built on 57 empirical data points, and through efficient sampling in the design space, we were able to obtain three points in the Pareto front in just over six iterations. The produced parts had a hardness ranging from 224–235 HV and a porosity in the range of 0.2–0.37%. The trained model recommended using the following parameters for high-quality parts: 58 W, 257 mm/s, 45 µm, with a scan rotation angle of 131 degrees. The proposed methodology greatly reduces the number of experiments, thus saving time and resources. The candidate process parameters prescribed by the model were experimentally validated and tested.

Unique functional properties such as the low stiffness, superelasticity, and biocompatibility of nickel–titanium shape-memory alloys provide many applications for such materials. Selective laser melting of NiTi enables low-cost customization of devices and the manufacturing of highly complex geometries without subsequent machining. However, the technology requires optimization of process parameters in order to guarantee high mass density and to avoid deterioration of functional properties. In this work, the melt pool geometry, surface morphology, formation mode, and thermal behavior were studied. Multiple combinations of laser power and scanning speed were used for single-track preparation from pre-alloyed NiTi powder on a nitinol substrate. The experimental results show the influence of laser power and scanning speed on the depth, width, and depth-to-width aspect ratio. Additionally, a transient 3D FE model was employed to predict thermal behavior in the melt pool for different regimes. In this paper, the coefficients for a volumetric double-ellipsoid heat source were calibrated with bound optimization by a quadratic approximation algorithm, the design of experiments technique, and experimentally obtained data. The results of the simulation reveal the necessary conditions of transition from conduction to keyhole mode welding. Finally, by combining experimental and FE modeling results, the optimal SLM process parameters were evaluated as P = 77 W, V = 400 mm/s, h = 70 μm, and t = 50 μm, without printing of 3D samples.

The particle size distribution significantly affects the material properties of the additively manufactured parts. In this work, the influence of bimodal powder containing nano- and micro-scale particles on microstructure and materials properties is studied. Moreover, to study the effect of the protective atmosphere, the test samples were additively manufactured from 316L stainless steel powder in argon and nitrogen. The samples fabricated from the bimodal powder demonstrate a finer subgrain structure, regardless of protective atmospheres and an increase in the Vickers microhardness, which is in accordance with the Hall-Petch relation. The porosity analysis revealed the deterioration in the quality of as-built parts due to the poor powder flowability. The surface roughness of fabricated samples was the same regardless of the powder feedstock materials used and protective atmospheres. The results suggest that the improvement of mechanical properties is achieved by adding a nano-dispersed fraction, which dramatically increases the total surface area, thereby contributing to the nitrogen absorption by the material.

The mechanical methods for measuring residual stresses typically rely on so-called destructive techniques where some stress components can be determined based on part deflection after material removal (cutting, etching, drilling, etc.). While these methods don't provide a comprehensive representation of residual stresses within the entire part, they can be readily applied in most manufacturing labs. In this study, we propose an efficient method for determining residual stress within additively manufactured cylindrical samples of stainless steel. The method is based on the assumption of a relation between the axial component of residual stress (normal to cross-section) and the cylinder radius. The general form of this relation is proposed based on data from numerical simulations using linear, parabolic or piecewise approximations. The parameters for the proposed relation are defined using equilibrium equations for total force and moment. The proposed method relies on an experiment with a mechanical cut along the cylinder. Consequently, the deflection of the cylinder halves after the cut allows for obtaining the equivalent bending moment.

High residual stresses (RS) in laser powder bed fusion (PBF-LB) components present significant structural challenges, yet traditional characterization techniques are cost- and time-intensive. This study introduces three rapid mechanical testing methodologies to estimate longitudinal RS in PBF-LB 316L stainless steel by using the premature micro-yielding of pre-tensioned near-surface regions in cylindrical geometries. The proposed methods evaluate RS through: (I) plastic work density calculated from cyclic loading-unloading, (II) virtual unloading mathematically projected from standard monotonic tensile data, and (III) the detection of a macroscopic micro-yielding threshold (0.01% strain). Estimations were quantitatively validated against neutron diffraction (ND) measurements across multiple heat treatment conditions (as-built to 1000 °C). The energy-based approaches (Proposed Methods I and II) demonstrated linear proportionality with relative ND stress reductions (R2= 0.82 and 0.77, respectively). Furthermore, by subtracting the empirical micro-yielding threshold from condition-specific macroscopic yield strengths, Proposed Method III tracked absolute RS relaxation. Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) analysis physically validated these techniques, confirming that the initial non-linear macroscopic mechanical response is governed by localized geometrically necessary dislocation (GND) accumulation prior to bulk yielding. These findings establish the proposed mechanical methods as highly accessible alternatives for evaluating stress mitigation strategies in additive manufacturing.