Identifying, quantifying, and determining the root causes of specific spreadability issues with AM powders
Powders used in the AM industry either they spread well or they do not. Poor powder spreading is due to specific issues with the powder or printer parameters. Therefore, the specific spreadability issues must be identified and quantified so that the root cause of the issue can be determined and corrected. Data is presented in identifying and quantifying various spreadability issues including low layer density, low layer thickness, non-uniform layer coverage, channeling, and layer waviness. The root causes of these issues are determined, and corrective actions are presented.
