[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-648226-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":80,"doc-detail-648226-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":73,"head_meta":75,"extra_data":77,"updated_unix":79},105,"en","design-for-metal-am-a-beginners-guide","Design for metal AM - a beginner’s guide","","Design for metal AM (DfAM) explains how to create efficient, cost-effective additive manufacturing components while accounting for constraints of laser powder bed fusion. It covers how residual stress forms from rapid heating and cooling, and how heat, contraction, and layer shear can cause distortion or cracking. The guide also outlines practical design factors such as minimizing residual stress via scan strategies, and choosing orientation to reduce support needs and improve build stability.",{"@graph":14,"@context":72},[15,34,55],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/technology/","Technology",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/design-for-metal-am-a-beginners-guide/648226/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/design-for-metal-am-a-beginners-guide/648226.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Logic","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-26","2026-10-23",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":26},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",{"@type":56,"mainEntity":57},"FAQPage",[58,64,68],{"name":59,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":61},"What causes residual stress in laser powder bed fusion?","Question",{"text":62,"@type":63},"Residual stress results from rapid heating and cooling inherent to the process. As each layer is melted and then cools and contracts, it is constrained by the solid metal below, creating shear forces between layers.","Answer",{"name":65,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":66},"How can scan strategy help minimize residual stress?",{"text":67,"@type":63},"Choosing scan vectors with shorter lengths can reduce the stress built into the component. The text compares hatching patterns such as meander, stripe, and chessboard, linking them to stress distribution and suitable part sizes.",{"name":69,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":70},"Why is build orientation important in metal AM?",{"text":71,"@type":63},"Build direction is defined along the Z axis, and orientation should be selected to achieve the most stable build with minimal or no support material. This is especially important for overhangs and how layers rely on the layer below for support and heat conduction.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":74,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":76,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":78,"site_id":7},648226,1792984770,{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":82},"success",[83,87,91,95,100,104,109,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":84,"show_sort_weight":85,"slug":86},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":88,"show_sort_weight":89,"slug":90},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":92,"show_sort_weight":93,"slug":94},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":96,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":97,"show_sort_weight":98,"slug":99},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":101,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":102,"slug":103},6,50,"technology",{"id":105,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":106,"show_sort_weight":107,"slug":108},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":110,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":111,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":96,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":131},{"doc_id":78,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":101,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":26,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":105,"language":139,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":143,"read_time":144},1099513958762,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/1000023916a998db790?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1784791008015729253","Renishaw plc  \nNew Mills, Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire, GL12 8JR United Kingdom  \nT +44 (0)1453 524524 F +44 (0)1453 524901 [E](E uk@renishaw.com)[ uk@renishaw.com](E uk@renishaw.com)[ ](E uk@renishaw.com)[www.renishaw.com](www.renishaw.com)  \nDesign for metal AM-a beginner’s guide  \nAdditive manufacturing (AM) gives us tremendous freedom to create components with free-form and intricate features, direct from CAD and without the need for expensive tooling. These complex designs would be impractical, if not impossible, to produce conventionally. Additive components are often lighter, more efficient and better adapted to their  \nFactor \\#1-residual stress  \nResidual stress is a natural result of the rapid heating and cooling that is inherent to the laser powder bed fusion process. Each new layer is created by moving the focused laser across the bed, melting the top layer of powder and  \napplication.  \nThis flexibility does not, however, give us total freedom to design any shape that we can think of. At least, not if we want to manufacture it at a sensible cost.  \nLike any manufacturing process, AM technologies have their capabilities and their limitations. For instance, laser powder-bed fusion parts that are designed with overhanging features  \n– i.e. where we are building on top of un-fused powder – may require sacrificial supports to enable them to build successfully. These supports increase build time, consume  \nfusing it to the layer below. Heat flows from the hot weld pool down into the solid metal below, and so the molten metal cools and solidifies. This all happens very rapidly; in a matter of micro-seconds.  \nAs a new layer of metal solidifies and cools on top of the layer below, it contracts. The new metal is constrained by the solid structure below and so its contraction sets up shear forces between the layers.  \nextra materials and require additional post-processing for their removal.  \nFunctionally optimised parts that have not been designed for AM may require a lot of supports, making them inefficient to manufacture.  \nDesign for AM (DfAM) is, therefore, critical if we are to produce parts that combine exceptional performance with practical, cost-effective additive manufacture. The intimate relationship between functional optimisation and design for process in the article Is topological optimisation really optimal?  \nThis article considers the key factors that drive the success rate and productivity of AM builds, and explains some of the critical guidelines that designers should follow to create efficient production components.  \nLaser melting of a new weld track on top ofa solid substrate (left) . Asthe laser moves along the scan vector, it melts the powder, which then cools mostly through conduction of heat into the solid metal below. Once it solidifies, the cooling metal contracts (right), setting up shear forces between it and the layer below.  \nResidual stress can be destructive. As we add layers ontop of one another, the stresses build up and can result in distortion of the part, leading it to curl up at the edges and pull away from its supports:  \nIn more extreme cases, the stress may exceed the strength of the part, leading catastrophic cracking of the component, or distortion of the build plate:  \nThese effects are most pronounced in parts with large crosssections, as these tend to have longer weld tracks and thereis more distance over which the shear forces can act.  \n© 2017 Renishaw plc. All rights reserved. Page 1 of 7  \nFeature article: Design for metal AM-a beginner’s guide  \nMinimising residual stress  \nOne way to tackle this is by varying our scanning strategy, choosing a method that is best suited to the part geometry. When we are filling in the centre of our part, an activity known as ‘hatching’, we typically move the laser back and forth. The pattern that we choose affects the length of the scan vectors and hence the level of stress that we are likely to build up in the component. Strategies","cbCaii5Kv0t7tuBt","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaii5Kv0t7tuBt","pdf",919404,"English","# Factor #1 - residual stress\n## Minimising residual stress\n# Factor #2 - orientation\n## Overhangs and the melting process","[{\"question\":\"What causes residual stress in laser powder bed fusion?\",\"answer\":\"Residual stress results from rapid heating and cooling inherent to the process. As each layer is melted and then cools and contracts, it is constrained by the solid metal below, creating shear forces between layers.\"},{\"question\":\"How can scan strategy help minimize residual stress?\",\"answer\":\"Choosing scan vectors with shorter lengths can reduce the stress built into the component. The text compares hatching patterns such as meander, stripe, and chessboard, linking them to stress distribution and suitable part sizes.\"},{\"question\":\"Why is build orientation important in metal AM?\",\"answer\":\"Build direction is defined along the Z axis, and orientation should be selected to achieve the most stable build with minimal or no support material. This is especially important for overhangs and how layers rely on the layer below for support and heat conduction.\"}]","Design for metal AM - a beginner’s guide | PDF",1792792730,18]