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Processing of Al-Sc aluminum alloy using SLM technology

Article · January 2018

DOI: 10.1016/j.procir.2018.08.027

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 Available online at www.sciencedirect.com

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ScienceDirect
Procedia CIRP 00 (2018) 000–000
ScienceDirect www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia

Procedia CIRP 00 (2017)

Procedia CIRP 000–000
74 (2018) 44–48
www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia

th
th
10th
10 CIRPConference
CIRP Conferenceon
onPhotonic
PhotonicTechnologies
Technologies [LANE
[LANE 2018]
2018]

Processing ofCIRP
28th Al-Sc aluminum
Design Conference,alloy using
May 2018, SLM
Nantes, technology
France

A new methodology
Daniel Koutnyto*,analyze the functional and ,physical
, Libor Pantělejev architecture of
a, a a a
Daniel Skulina David Paloušek ,
b b c
Blanka Lenczowski , Frank Palm , Andreas Nick
existing products for an assembly oriented product family identification
aa
Brno University of Technology, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Tecnicka 2896/2, 616 69 Brno, Czech Republic
b
b Airbus Group Innovations, Metallics M & P / TX1M, 81663 Munich, Germany
Paul Stief *, Jean-Yves Dantan, Alain Etienne, Ali Siadat
cc
AIRBUS APWORKS GmbH, Willy-Messerschmitt-Straße 1, 82024 Taufkirchen, Germany

Écoleauthor.
* Corresponding Nationale
Tel.:Supérieure d’Arts
+420 541 143 356.et E-mail
Métiers, Arts et Métiers
address: ParisTech, LCFC EA 4495, 4 Rue Augustin Fresnel, Metz 57078, France
Daniel.Koutny@vut.cz

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +33 3 87 37 54 30; E-mail address: paul.stief@ensam.eu

Abstract

The proposed paper deals with the experimental determination of process parameters reaching densities >99 % for Scandium modified
Abstract
aluminum alloy (Scalmalloy®) processed by SLM 280HL. The alloy achieves significantly higher yield strength and higher elongation than the
AlSi10Mg aluminum alloy figcommonly used. Potential of this alloy is for lightweight applications in space, aerospace, and automotive
In today’s business environment, the trend towards more product variety and customization is unbroken. Due to this development, the need of
industries, where is a need of the best possible stiffness to weight ratio. Experiments were provided with different values of laser power and
agile and reconfigurable production systems emerged to cope with various products and product families. To design and optimize production
laser scanning speed. Layer thickness and other parameters stayed unchanged. The X-ray micro-computed tomography (μCT) scanning of the
systems as well as to choose the optimal product matches, product analysis methods are needed. Indeed, most of the known methods aim to
tensile specimen was used in order to obtain qualitative and quantitative information about the porosity.
analyze a product or one product family on the physical level. Different product families, however, may differ largely in terms of the number and
© 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
© 2018
nature ofThe Authors. Published
components. This fact by Elsevier
impedes anLtd. This iscomparison
efficient an open access
and article
choiceunder the CC BY-NC-ND
of appropriate license
product family combinations for the production
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/)
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
system. A new methodology is proposed to analyze existing products in view of their functional and physical architecture. The aim is to cluster
Peer-review under responsibility of the Bayerisches Laserzentrum GmbH.
these products in new assembly oriented product families for the optimization of existing assembly lines and the creation of future reconfigurable
assembly systems. Based on Datum Flow Chain, the physical structure of the products is analyzed. Functional subassemblies are identified, and
Keywords: Selective Laser Melting (SLM); Al-Sc alloy; Scalmalloy®; Microstructure; Mechanical properties
a functional analysis is performed. Moreover, a hybrid functional and physical architecture graph (HyFPAG) is the output which depicts the
similarity between product families by providing design support to both, production system planners and product designers. An illustrative
example of a nail-clipper is used to explain the proposed methodology. An industrial case study on two product families of steering columns of
thyssenkrupp Presta France is then carried out to give a first industrial evaluation of the proposed approach.
1. Introduction aluminium scandium alloy has the best strength to weight
© 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
ratio. Scandium predicate to improve general weldability in Al
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 28th CIRP Design Conference 2018.
The selective laser melting (SLM) is one of the widespread alloys, for alloys, which are susceptible to hot cracking, and
technologies among the metal additive manufacturing
Keywords: Assembly; Design method; Family identification (AM). extended heat affected zone formation [7]. Al-Sc composition
The main advantage is ability to produce parts with complex is based on 5xxx AlMg-alloys, which offer high solid solution
shape, which would be difficult or even impossible to achieve hardening and improved corrosion resistance [8]. Al-Sc alloy
by conventional production methods, e.g. components with a forms upon cooling or defined aging an intermetallic Al3Sc
1.internal
Introduction
structure, such as cooling channels or cellular lattice of the productleading
precipitates range and to characteristics
high strengthmanufactured and/or
with an strength
structures [1]. SLM offers significant potential for mass assembled increment in of this
aboutsystem.
40–50InMPa thisper
context,
0.1 wt.the%main challenge in
Sc [9],[10].
Due toin lightweight
reduction the fast development
applications. That in can
thebe domain
achieved of by modelling andamounts
Increasing analysisofis Sc
now not0 only
from to 0.6towt.
cope with single
% increase the
communication and anorongoing
topology optimization trend
integration of digitization
of lattice structures,and but products,
hardness, atensile
limitedstrength
product range or existing
and yield strengthproduct
with afamilies,
loss in
digitalization,
also by use manufacturing enterprises
of the lightweight are facing
material withimportant
superior but also to[11].
ductility be able
Thetomechanical
analyze and to compare
properties products to define
of Scalmalloy® were
challenges
mechanicalinproperties
today’s [2].
market environments:
However, the wide aexpansion
continuing of new productinfamilies.
described several It can be[12]
studies observed that classical
[13] [14]. For the existing
as-built
tendency
metal AM towards reduction
into serial of product
component development
production times and
is still limited by product families
state, the are regrouped
ultimate in function
tensile strength (UTS) of clients or features.
> 400MPa, offset
shortened product
the portfolio lifecycles.
of the materials,Inwhich
addition,
can there is an increasing
be processed reliably However, assembly
yield strength (YS)>oriented
277 product
MPa were families are hardly
reached for allto build
find.
demand
in termsofofcustomization,
final density being at the same
and strength time 1inrepresents
[5]. Fig. a global On the product
orientations. Veryfamily
low level, products
anisotropic differ mainly
mechanical in two
behaviour
competition
only 6 aluminumwith competitors
alloys that allareover the world.processed
successfully This trend, by mainbetweencharacteristics:
horizontal (i)
(0°)theand
number of components
vertical (90°) build and (ii) the
orientation
which is inducing which
SLM technology, the development from macro
is in comparison to micro
with traditional type
was of components (e.g. mechanical, electrical, electronical).
indicated.
markets, results in diminished
casting technologies lot sizes
only a fraction [6].due to augmenting
Among those, the Classical methodologies considering mainly single products
product varieties (high-volume to low-volume production) [1]. or solitary, already existing product families analyze the
To cope with this augmenting variety as well as to be able to product structure on a physical level (components level) which
© 2018 Theoptimization
2212-8271 possible
identify Authors. Published by Elsevier
potentials in Ltd.
the This is an opencauses
existing access article under theregarding
difficulties CC BY-NC-ND license
an efficient definition and
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/)
production system, it is important to have a precise knowledge comparison of different product families. Addressing this
Peer-review under responsibility of the Bayerisches Laserzentrum GmbH.
2212-8271 © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
2212-8271 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
Peer-review
Peer-review under
under responsibility
responsibility of scientific
of the the Bayerisches Laserzentrum
committee GmbH.
of the 28th CIRP Design Conference 2018.
10.1016/j.procir.2018.08.027
 Daniel Koutny et al. / Procedia CIRP 74 (2018) 44–48 45
2 Author name / Procedia CIRP 00 (2018) 000–000

All test samples were produced using an alternating scan

strategy from layer to layer, and bi-directional scanning
according Fig. 2. The scanning strategy was identical for all
cube samples. Hatching angle changed over the height of the
samples with increment of 79°.

2.2. Metallographic analysis

Samples for observation were mechanically grinded using

abrasive grinding paper of 1000–4000 grit and after that,
polished with 3 μm and 1 μm diamond slurry. For chemical
Fig. 1. Comparison of mechanical properties of selected titanium, copper and etching a Keller’s agent was used, composed of: 1 % HF, 2.5
aluminum alloys processed by SLM % HNO3, 1.5 % HCl and 95 % distilled water. Microstructure
was analyzed in etched state using light microscope
The artificial aging was tested at 325 °C for 4 hours to OLYMPUS GX 51. ImageJ-FIJI software, was used for image
determine the hardening effect. The hardness 105 HV as-built analysis and porosity evaluation.
up was measured, for aging samples a value of 177 HV was
achieved. For aged tensile specimens YS over 500 MPa and 2.3. Scalmalloy® powder
UTS over 520 MPa were obtained.
The microstructure of SLM processed Scalmalloy® shows A development grade Scalmalloy® powder material was
two distinct regions, first around the track fusion boundary gas atomized in N2 by ECKA Granules. Scalmalloy®
with a very fine-grained microstructure without any industrial grade powder is produced and marketed exclusively
preferential grain orientation, and a second region inside track by APWorks. In this study a different chemical composition
with larger columnar grains growing along the temperature of the powder was used than the actually made by APWorks.
gradient [13]. Nevertheless, the studies were aimed on alloy Both chemical compositions are listed in Table 1.
with lower content of Scandium, and the compositions with
Table 1. Chemical composition of Scalmalloy® powders
higher Sc content (>1%) has not been published yet.
Weight % Investigated composition Typical composition
2. Material and Methods Al Balance Balance
Sc 1.11 0.73
Mg 2.9 4.4
2.1. SLM process
Zr 0.42 0.3
Mn 0.18 0.4
The SLM-process is affected by many processing variables,
Others ≤ 0.06 ≤ 0.05
including powder properties and machine setup. All samples
were produced by SLM 280HL machine equipped with 400W
Ytterbium fiber laser with Gaussian profile (laser spot 82 µm). 2.4. Static mechanical testing
The building chamber of the machine was filled up with N2
atmosphere. The oxygen level was kept below 0.2 % during For mechanical testing, blocks of 12 × 12 mm square
the building process. The temperature of the building platform cross-section and length of 70 mm were manufactured. Blocks
was set to 120 °C. were fabricated directly on the building platform in horizontal
(0°) direction. After the production, blocks were machined to
form a standard sample for tensile test, with specimen having
a nominal diameter of 6 mm and the gauge length of 30 mm
(according to DIN 50125-B). The static tensile test was
performed on the machine Zwick Z250 at room temperature
with testing in accordance with DIN EN ISO 6892-1.
Except the as-built condition (HT0), two additional heat
treatment variants were tested. The first variant (HT1) used
Fig. 2. Scan strategy for SLM test samples, z-axis indicates the build direction annealing and artificial aging: 540 °C/1h with water
quenching followed by 325 °C/4h with cooling rate 50 °C/1h.
Second variant (HT2) used artificial aging only: 325 °C/2h
with cooling rate 50 °C/1h.
46 Daniel Koutny et al. / Procedia CIRP 74 (2018) 44–48
Author name / Procedia CIRP 00 (2018) 000–000 3

3. Results and Discussion

3.1. Powder analysis

Fig. 3 shows the distribution of particle size measured by

Horiba LA-950 laser particle size analyzer. Particles median
size is 47.2 μm, mean size is 50.2 μm,. Particle size up to 31.5
μm represent 10 percent and particle size up to 73.1 μm
represent 90 % of particles, therefore layer thickness of 60 μm
was used during all experiments. The powder contained a
large percentage of particles above 80 μm.

Fig. 5. Evolution of defects considering laser scanning speed

Fig. 5a shows, that high energy generates large

metallurgical pores. These pores are created in the range of
laser scanning speed 100–500 mm/s. While rising laser
scanning speed 1100 mm/s and therefore low energy density
55 J/mm3 produce fusion defects. Such fusion defects arise
Fig. 3. Powder characterization: particle size distribution of Scalmalloy®
from instability, which can be attributed to rapid solidification
of the metal without complete filling of gaps with molten
3.2. Cube test metal [15].
For repeatability test, cube samples of dimensions
Optimization of porosity was conducted using cube 13 × 13 × 13 mm were evaluated and relative density
specimens of dimensions 5 × 5 × 5 mm, which were built 99.5±0.3 % was achieved. The optimal parameters were found
directly on build plate without supports. as (LP = 375 W, LS = 900 mm/s and HD = 100 µm).
Three fundamental SLM process parameters were variable
to explore the processing limits of Scalmalloy®. Laser power 3.3. Microstructure
(LP) varied in range of 325–400 W, laser scanning speed (LS)
varied in range of 100–1400 mm/s. Values of hatch distance The etched samples on Fig. 6b shows cross section through
(HD) were set to 100 μm. The constant value 60 μm of layer the layers, where the average width (156±14) µm of
thickness was used. individual tracks were measured. Average height of tracks
was found as 80±12 µm (for 30 tracks). Depth of penetration
into previous layer of 35±4 µm was measured, which allows
to use layer thickness of 50–60 µm.
Fig. 6a shows that the metal powder has been completely
melted through and formed the linear regions. Revealed
microstructure thus corresponds to the laser trajectories during
hatching. Some metallurgical pores are apparent in the
contour area.

Fig. 4. Evolution of relative density considering laser scanning speed

Optimal energy density in the range of 60–70 J/mm3 for

minimal porosity was found (Fig. 4). Process window of
scanning speed in range of 800–1000 mm/s was evaluated as
perspective, because in sample volume only small spherical
pores appeared. The best results of relative density 98±0.3 % Fig. 6. Etched microstructure of cube sample; (a) section parallel to the layers
were achieved with laser power in range of 325–375 W and (top view of the sample); (b) section perpendicular to the layers (side view)
laser scanning speed 900 mm/s.
3.4. Surface topology

For most SLM applications, a low surface roughness in as-

built state is desirable. To achieve this a suitable combination
of laser power and scanning speed for outer contour were
 Daniel Koutny et al. / Procedia CIRP 74 (2018) 44–48 47
4 Author name / Procedia CIRP 00 (2018) 000–000

tested. Thin wall samples of dimensions 10 × 1 × 8 mm

(x,y,z) were analyzed on the 3D optical profilometer Bruker
Contour GT-X8. The surface roughness (Ra) was measured
on the side of the sample. Table 2 contains overview of the
used process parameters and its influence on surface
roughness. Surface of the samples depends on energy density.
Lower values of surface roughness could be achieved with
higher laser power and lower scanning speed (LP = 350 W
and LS = 300 mm/s). These process parameters for outer
contour allowed reaching surface roughness of Ra 6.1–7.5
µm.
Fig. 8. μCT results; (a) evaluated area of the sample; (b) defects in X-Z
Table 2. Influence of surface roughness on used processed parameters
section; (c) ISO view of defects in whole evaluated volume
LP (W) LS (mm/s) Ra (µm)
Sample (a) 350 300 6.1
4. Conclusion
Sample (b) 350 600 15.3
Sample (c) 200 300 49.8 The paper describes study of SLM manufacturing process
parameters of scandium modified aluminum alloy
Scalmalloy®). Material is well processable with SLM,
reaching densities >99 %. The study provides an overview of
the influence of main process parameters (laser speed, laser
power) on porosity and surface topology of the material.
Optimal process parameters for 60 µm layer thickness, which
produce specimens with high relative density were found.
These parameters allowing the built speed up to 22 cm3 per
hour. The result of the relative density measurement on cube
sample was confirmed by µCT measurement on the tensile
Fig. 7. Surface topography of vertical sample side depending on various
process parameters; samples (a), (b), (c) corresponds to Table 2
sample and the relative density was achieved up to 99.8 %.
The results of Scalmalloy® tensile test show that higher Sc
3.5. Static mechanical properties content could lead to higher YS values (about 8 %), than the
values stated by Spierings [16], however with significant loss
The tensile samples for all tested heat treatments were built in ductility. The reason may be the higher ⁓ 0.4 wt. % Sc in
with optimized parameters, in horizontal (0°) orientation. High tested composition. Presence of larger voids in tensile
static mechanical properties for Scalmalloy® (Table 3) were specimen could be the reason for lower ultimate strength
reached in as-built condition, which were significantly values in comparison with values achieved other studies.
increased (YS of about 75 %) by artificial aging, contrary to
ductile properties that substantially decreased. Acknowledgements

Table 3. Influence of heat treatment on mechanical properties The research leading to these results has received funding
Heat treatment E (GPa) YS (MPa) UTS (MPa) A (%) Z (%) from the MEYS under the National Sustainability Programme
HT0 76.8 306.5 334.5 12.3 20.3 I (Project LO1202) and projects FSI-S-17-4144; FSI-S174424
HT1 65.2 395.3 419.7 3.1 3.9 and CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_025/0007304.
HT2 66.0 540.2 541.3 0.7 3.4
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