The Influence of Process Parameters on the Surface Roughness of a 3D-Printed Co-Cr Dental Alloy Produced via Selective Laser Melting
Year: 2016
Journal: Appl. Sci.-Basel
Authors: Hong, MH; Min, BK; Kwon, TY
Selective laser melting (SLM), used to fabricate metallic objects with high geometrical complexity, is currently of increasing interest to the fields of medicine and dentistry. SLM-fabricated products should have highly smooth surfaces to minimize the use of post-processing procedures such as finishing and polishing. This study investigated the effect of various laser process parameters (laser power, scan rate, and scan-line spacing) on the surface roughness of a Co-Cr dental alloy that was three-dimensionally (3D) constructed via SLM. Initially, a single-line formation test was used to determine the optimal laser power (200 W) and scan rate (128.6 mm/s) that resulted in beads with an optimal profile. During subsequent multi-layer formation tests, the 3D Co-Cr body with the smoothest surface was produced using a scan-line spacing of 100 mu m. The findings of this study show that laser process parameters have crucial effects on the surface quality of SLM-fabricated Co-Cr dental alloys.
