Advanced Powder Characterization for Laser Powder-Bed Fusion of AlSi10Mg

Laser Powder-Bed Fusion is an additive manufacturing technique that allows to produce complex parts. Apart from process parameters, a key aspect of this system is powder quality, which strongly affects processability. In fact, a low powder quality, in terms of flowability, usually results in undesired phenomena, such as inadequate parts produced or machine clogging. It is then necessary to accurately determine whether a powder will flow properly or not. Currently, the most common flow test used is the Hall flow, which lacks accuracy for powders with intermediate properties. Hence the necessity to find new powder characterisation techniques. Varying tests have been performed, ranging from flowability, particle size distribution, powder permeability to compressibility. Some correlations between the flowing behaviour and other powder properties, such as permeability, have been found. Ranking samples according to their flowability was also possible, granting a deeper accuracy level with respect to the simple Hall flow test.