Laser Powder Bed Fusion of Aluminium Alloy 6061 for Ultra-High Vacuum Applications

As additive techniques such as laser powder bed fusion find increasing adoption industry, the ability to adapt these processes industrially relevant materials is paramount. This adaptation can represent a significant challenge when working with wrought alloy feedstocks, which often result in brittle or porous parts lacking mechanical properties of their conventionally counterparts. One alloy, aluminium 6061, highly used aerospace, automotive, and semiconductor manufacturing industries. The manufactured components have complex morphologies may be assemblies multiple individual components. such, use an approach, produce single lead benefits.In this work, we examine 6061. effects process parameters power, beam scan speed, hatching distance, spot size was examined view towards developing optimised for traditionally alloy. Parts were porosity microstructure, aim develop greater than 95% relative densities. To aid optimisation, in-situ pyrometry deployed understand robust repeatable producing 6061