Parameter study of an Al-Cr-Mo-Sc-Zr alloy processed by laser powder bed fusion reaching high build rates

Market availability of aluminum alloys for laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) is still highly limited in comparison to conventional manufacturing processes. The demand for high-strength but inexpensive alloys specifically designed for L-PBF is high. This demand has led to research on a variety of adapted conventional alloys which are still limited to utilize the full potential of L-PBF. Scalmalloy (R) (Al-Mg-Sc-Zr) satisfies the demand for high-strength L-PBF-alloys but needs a high energy input and has troubles with evaporation of Mg. Scancromal (R) (Al-Cr-Sc-Zr) is a novel alloying system for L-PBF and was first introduced in 2019 with the possibility of higher build rates and comparable strengths to Scalmalloy (R). In this paper, a more economic low Sc-containing version of Scancromal (R) is presented. A parameter study was performed for 100 mu m \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$${100}\,\upmu \hbox {m}$$\end{document} layer thickness reaching high build rates of about 47 cm 3 h - 1 \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$${47}\,\hbox {cm}<^>{3}\,\hbox {h}<^>{-1}$$\end{document} . Hardness tests for different parameters were carried out and showed a stable process window with a hardness comparable to AlSi10Mg. Additionally, two-dimensional multilayer process simulations showed a potential for increasing the layer thickness to 150 mu m \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$${150}\,\upmu \hbox {m}$$\end{document} and therefore a significant increase in build rate of up to 70 cm 3 h - 1 \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$${70}\,\hbox {cm}<^>{3}\,\hbox {h}<^>{-1}$$\end{document} highlighting the high productivity potential of Al-Cr alloys for L-PBF.