Results of studies on the emissivity of metal powder for implementing an intelligent control approach in additive manufacturing

Abstract

In this study, the emissivity values of metal powder were examined by measuring reference temperature values using thermocouples, an infrared camera and aluminium foil to determine the reflection temperature. This enabled the testing of a methodology for determining emissivity in order to implement an intelligent control approach in additive manufacturing. The research established emissivity values for the surface of 316L powder steel that range 0.33 to 0.46 in the temperature range 50 to 600°C. The proposed approach allows the calibration of an infrared camera to accurately determine the temperature values of metal surfaces, which opens up the possibility of using the measurement results for intelligent control of laser power in additive manufacturing.