Experimental Framework for Testing the Finishing of Additive Parts

Selective laser melting (SLM) is a metal additive manufacturing (AM) process involving the selective layer-wise scanning of a powder bed. It is capable of producing metal parts for applications including the aerospace and medical industries. However, components made by SLM are currently not always reaching their potential in industry, due to limitations in the process leading to inadequate part quality. One particular example is the attachment of partially melted particles to the surface which can act as crack-initiation sites reducing part fatigue life. It is therefore necessary to find finishing processes for metal AM parts that remove these particles without compromising the advantages of AM. This paper presents the challenges of finishing AM parts, outlines techniques reported in the literature, and proposes an experimental framework for analysing the effectiveness of finishing processes for AM. The outlined framework will help improve the scientific understanding of finishing processes for AM.