Optimisation Advancements in Laser Powder Bed Fusion

Dear Colleagues,

It is well known that laser powder bed fusion unlocks design constraints and enables the manufacture of complex geometries which enhance the functionalities of industrial parts. The technology has been extensively researched compared to other powder bed additive manufacturing technologies, and nowadays, there are many developed materials, as well as machine systems offering the technology on the market. The technology has been adopted in many sectors in industry for the manufacture of functional parts with improved designs and greater performance. However, there is always a need to optimise different aspects of the technology in order to improve the quality of parts, shorten lead and production times, and reduce costs.

The aim of this Special Issue is to demonstrate the state-of-the-art optimisation advancements in laser powder bed fusion. The following topics are welcome in the Special Issue.

• Design optimisation: optimisation of existing or new designs; topology optimisation techniques; design for fatigue and durability.
• Materials optimisation: optimisation of material and microstructural properties; optimisation of powder manufacture, storage and handling.
• Process optimisation: optimisation of process parameters and toolpath generation; optimisation of multi-laser systems; optimisation of machine systems and their performance; optimisation of in-situ technologies and control systems.
• Post-processing optimisation: optimisation of heat treatment processes; optimisation of conventional and non-conventional post-machining processes; optimisation of surface engineering processes; optimisation of manufacturing process chains.
• Optimisation in quality inspection: optimisation of measurement technologies and techniques; optimisation of uncertainties; optimisation techniques in verification, validation and certification; optimisation of testing methods for performance validation.
• Modelling and simulation: design, materials, process and inspection optimisation algorithms and techniques; optimisation of material and process modelling techniques; optimisations using physics-based methods.
• Operations management: optimisations in scheduling; factory optimisations; management of supply chains.
• Digital manufacturing: demonstration of digital twins; knowledge-based and decision support systems; artificial intelligence; optimisations in connectivity and cyber security (Industry 4.0).

Manuscripts should include experimental validation by using either authors own data or data from published literature and cannot be purely theoretical or/and simulation work.

Dr. Shukri Afazov
Guest Editor

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