Development of analytical methods for direct macro surface texturing by metal laser powder bed fusion

Sibanda, Prospera 2023. Development of analytical methods for direct macro surface texturing by metal laser powder bed fusion. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

Additive Manufacturing (AM) is gaining much attention, particularly for end- use parts in the aerospace industry due to the advantages of the technique to produce complex parts, reduce part count and minimise part cost. Out of the AM techniques, metal Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) shows promising application to complement traditional manufacturing, specifically within aircraft interior industry where LPBF is attractive for the manufacture of bespoke, high-end luxury suite components. Unfortunately, LPBF suffers major drawback in terms of the surface finish, which can potentially limit its application, particularly with visible aircraft interior application where the surface finish is paramount to part acceptance. Surface texturing can potentially improve the surface finish of LPBF parts; however, this needs to be explored in the context of aircraft interior applications. Whilst there are methods to design surface textures, there are still uncertainties on the definition of millimeter scale surface features for creating textures. An analytical equation was developed to provide design guidelines for the definition of such features. The results show significant improvement in the prediction accuracy when using the analytical equation compared to experimentation. By adopting the feature widths and spacing predictions for texture creation, individual assessments were conducted to establish a method for assessing the visuo-tactile perception of textured LPBF surfaces. The main contribution of this thesis is in the development of analytical tools to aid designers to make a quick assessment of the suitability of their surface texture design for a particular LPBF machine/material.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Date Type:	Completion
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Engineering
Uncontrolled Keywords:	1. Additive Manufacturing 2. Surface Macro Texture 3. Machine Resolution 4. Analytical Methods 5. Aesthetic Evaluation
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	28 February 2024
Last Modified:	29 Feb 2024 13:22
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/166611

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