Powder bed fusion of aluminium alloys: A review of experimental explorations – Microstructure, mechanical properties, and recent advances

The resourceful nature of humans always indulging in innovation to make optimized products leads to explorations of manufacturing processes more efficient than earlier. Powder bed fusion becoming a more popular additive manufacturing process to cater to the demand for generative design in the field of aerospace and automotive. The process is considered by industry but the reliability to produce flawless parts using powder bed fusion additive manufacturing still demands more applied research to make the process stable. This paper reflects an ample amount of applied research carried out for powder bed fusion-based additive manufacturing of aluminium alloys. This paper draws attention to the microstructure of printed parts, mechanical performance, and the recent advances in the context of material up-gradation and process innovation. Holistic consideration is given to the binding mechanisms involved, the effect of scanning speed and strategies on the porosity and microstructure, and the effect of laser power, heat treatment and in-situ heated bed on hardness and tensile strength of printed parts of aluminium alloy. Relationship of newly developed material with microstructure and mechanical properties reviewed. Light is thrown on advancement in the process to understand the significant effect of multi-laser powder bed fusion and shielding gas for spatter control on part quality and properties to get desired results. At last, the paper leaves the scope for future research into the potential direction to emerge with new trends in manufacturing.