Parametric Analysis of Relationships Among Part Geometry, Build Time, and Energy Consumption for Laser Powder Bed Fusion

Abstract Sustainable manufacturing systems must have sufficient throughput to meet demand, be cost-effective, and have an acceptably low environmental impact. For additive manufacturing by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF), part designers and process engineers must understand the underlying scalings among energy utilization, process parameters, and part geometry to attain efficient, low-carbon LPBF production. To this end, we present a family of parameterized models that digitally analyze part geometry, estimate laser scan paths, and calculate energy consumption associated with single-geometry LPBF production. Using a custom-built slicer and computational pipeline, geometry-specific build time is numerically calculated. A unit process life cycle inventory (UPLCI) is applied to articulate energy consumption across printer warm up, cool down, idling, and scanning. For parts (n = 15) each with a mass of 100g in AlSi10Mg built on a simulated EOS m290 machine, per-part build time varies from 29.2 to 44.3 minutes, a difference of up to 51.7%. Specific energy consumption varies between 20.3 to 30.5 MJ/kg, a difference of up to 50.3%. This work articulates how throughput and energy scale with design decisions including part design and selection, and translate these findings into guidance for manufacturing and design engineers.