Pulsed laser polishing of selective laser melted aluminium alloy parts

Laser polishing (LP) of aluminium alloys by re-melting is particularly challenging due to their high thermal conductivity, diffusivity and reflectivity. In this research, a novel LP strategy is proposed to improve material’s re-melting by introducing a thermally insulating ceramic baseplate during nanosecond-pulsed laser polishing of selective laser melted (SLM) AlSi10Mg parts in atmospheric and argon environments. The strategy considerably...