Rapid prediction of the relationship between processing parameters and molten pool during selective laser melting of cobalt-chromium alloy powder: Simulation and experiment

Abstract In this study, the ANSYS19.0 (APDL) was used to build a finite element model of Selective Laser Melting (SLM) forming cobalt-chromium alloy. The model parameters included the conversion of material properties, convective heat transfer, physical properties with different temperatures, and so on. Based on this model, the dimension of molten pool, temperature gradient, liquid lifetime and cooling rate were predicted at different processing parameters. In addition, the reliability of the model was checked by conducting relevant experiments and studying the micro-hardness and microstructure of specimens. The metal parts with high density and excellent forming quality could be acquired with the scanning speed of 750 mm/s and laser power in the range of 160–200 W. Especially, when the laser power was 160 W, the molten pool existed for a suitable time (0.3133 ms), and the liquid phase acquired good fluidity which was beneficial to the overlap of adjacent molten pools.