Powder Characterization and Optimization for Additive Manufacturing

Achieving the optimal quality for Additive Manufactured (AM) parts does not only depend on setting the right process parameters. Material feedstock also plays an important role when aiming for high performance products. The metal AM processes that are most applicable to industry, Powder Bed Fusion and Directed Energy Deposition, use metal powder as raw material. Therefore, controlling the quality and correctly characterizing the particles used in the process is a key step to successfully apply metal AM techniques. A correct flow of the powder and a constant apparent density over the build plate/substrate ensure a smooth process, less porosity and better surface resolution. In the present paper a methodology for AM powder characterization will be proposed, based on parameters like particle size distribution and shape, and experimental results will be presented. A series of representative materials from the above-mentioned techniques are studied to find the optimal particle parameters required in the metal AM processes.