Melt Pool Shape Evaluation by Single-Track Experiments and Finite-Element Thermal Analysis: Balling and Lack of Fusion Criteria for Generating Process Window of Inconel738LC.

Defects occur in laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) such as the keyholing, lack of fusion, and the balling depending on the laser power () and the scan speed (). The figure shows that the occupied regions of each defect are the process window and are essentially important to fabricate a high-quality part. This paper is a study of process window generation using single-track experiments and finite-element method simulation of thermal conduction for Inconel738LC alloy.