Material produced by PBF-LB
Selective laser melting of metallic powder bed

In PBF-LB additive manufacturing, cooling rates are extremely fast (on the order of 10 ⁴ to 10 ⁶ K/s) and solidification rates are high (on the order of 10 ¹ to 10 ³ mm/s). Consequently, the microstructures obtained in their as-built state may be in a non-equilibrium state, similar to those of quenched materials. Furthermore, successive laser passes generate remelting with heat-affected zones (HAZ, as in welding operations) that can locally alter the material through successive tempering. As a result, the resulting microstructures are often heterogeneous, not only within the molten...