Design and Fabrication of Functionally Graded Components by Selective Laser Melting

The control of structure formation of additive manufacturing simplifies the fabrication of functionally graded components (FGC), which changes in the physical properties can be achieved via structural design. In this research, selective laser melting (SLM) technology was used to fabricate structures with gradient lattice designs. The structure was varied in strut thickness continuously and linearly in single direction for cubic and honeycomb unit cells. Results showed that the complex design was successfully built and achieved nearly full-dense strut. Compression test results showed that the stress-strain curves of both cubic and honeycomb lattice structures oscillate with multiple peak loads, suggesting ductile characteristics. However, lattice structures with graded thickness tend to oscillate upward as the strut diameter increases.