Influence of particle size distribution on surface roughness in powder bed fusion - A contribution to increase resource efficiency

High roughness, especially on downskin surfaces, limits the high potential of powder bed-based additive manufacturing. Additionally, resource efficiency is low due to necessary powder preparation by sieving and sifting. In this examination, the potential of high output powder (maraging tool steel 1.2709), which was only marginally prepared after atomizing, was analysed in terms of roughness at different surface orientations on both the upskin and the downskin surface. The high output powder was compared to both, a powder with increased fineness and a commercially available powder, showing great potential regarding resource efficiency and roughness, especially for internal channels.& COPY; 2023 CIRP. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.