Heat transfer model for powder bed temperature management in binder jetting of 316L

Abstract

Accurate management of powder bed temperature is essential in binder jetting (BJ) to achieve dimensional accuracy and adequate mechanical properties. Three different models using the finite element method operating at different scales were developed in this study to compare their accuracy in predicting the thermal history of the powder bed during the BJ process. The simulated temperatures were compared with in situ experimental thermal measurements of the powder bed during printing. The first model relied on 2D Gaussian heat sources to model the movement of infrared lamps, achieving an absolute average error of just 1.5°C with the experimental data, but taking 28 h to simulate only 20 layers using eight CPUs. The second model employed a layer heating (LH) approach to reduce computation time while maintaining accuracy similar to that of the previous model. The second model was able to simulate 200 layers in 33 h with an average error of 1.7°C in comparison with the thermal measurements. The third model combines the LH and lumping approach to further reduce the model computational time, enabling simulation of the full process (2000 layers) in 33 h with an average error of 2.3°C compared to the experimental case. This parametric study suggests that thermal management of the powder bed during BJ can be improved using a combination of infrared lamps above the powder bed and a heated build box. This avoids bleeding, interlayer stitching issues, and other detrimental phenomena regardless of the nesting configuration.

Keywords

Additive manufacturing / Binder jetting / Finite element method / Thermal simulation / Binder drying

Funding

This study was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) under grant no. ALLRP 575177-22.

Conflict of Interest

Etienne Martin serves as the Editorial Board Member of the journal, but was not in any way involved in the editorial and peer-review process conducted for this paper, directly or indirectly. Other authors declare they have no competing interests.

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