The selection of process parameters in additive manufacturing for aerospace alloys

Invar 36 has gained considerable popularity in many industries, including the aerospace industry, because of its low coefficient of thermal expansion. In this paper, a brief overview for the research needs in metal additive manufacturing is presented. A thorough study for the influence of process parameters on the quality of the parts produced is presented. This study is beneficial for the long-term growth of the additive manufacturing industry. The paper aims to select the process parameters that can be used to fabricate dense parts from Invar 36 (UNS K93600) using the selective laser melting process. In this research, a group of cubes was fabricated using different process parameters from Invar 36 powder using a selective laser melting machine. The density, microstructures, and surface features of these cubes were measured. Experimental observations were drawn from the results of the preliminary analyses. The influence of the process parameters on the density of the parts produced is discussed in this paper.