On the effectiveness of different surface finishing techniques on A357.0 parts produced by laser-based powder bed fusion: Surface roughness and fatigue strength

Laser-based powder bed fusion (L-PBF) is an additive manufacturing (AM) technique that uses a computer-controlled laser beam as the energy source to consolidate a metal powder according to a layer-upon-layer strategy in order to manufacture a three dimensional part. This opens the way for an unprecedented freedom in geometry, but the layer-wise build-up strategy typically results in a very poor surface finish, which is affected by the staircase effect and by the presence of partially molten particles. Surface finishing treatments are therefore necessary to obtain an adequate surface finish, to improve the fatigue behavior and to meet mechanical and aesthetic needs. The present contribution systematically compares numerous surface finishing techniques, including laser shock processing, plastic media blasting, sand blasting, ceramic shot peening and metal shot peening with steel particles of different sizes (ϕ = 0.2 mm and ϕ = 0.4 mm). The results show that all the proposed methods improve the surface quality and the fatigue life of A357.0 L-PBF parts. However, the achievement of the lowest surface roughness does not necessarily correspond to the best fatigue performance, thus suggesting that multiple mechanisms may be active and that besides surface roughness also residual stresses contribute to increase the fatigue strength.