An experimental and numerical study about the effect of substrate thickness on dimensional deviation in laser powder bed fusion process

Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) process has received great attention recently from both academic and industry perspective due to its ability to enable the manufacturing of very complex parts. However, the dimensional deviation of LPBF produced parts still needs more investigation. Different part and process parameters have been investigated in terms of their effects on dimensional deviation in LPBF process. However, the effect of substrate platform thickness was not fully covered in literature especially in terms of experimental findings. To fill this gap, this study focused on the effect of substrate thickness on dimensional deviation of an engine bracket produced from CoCrMo powder with LPBF method. Thermomechanical simulation studies were performed and validated with experimental findings. The results showed that dimensional deviation decreased when substrate thickness increased, the trend of which was captured by thermomechanical simulations. The results also revealed that simulation results converged to the measurement results when substrate thickness increased.