General Rules for Pre-Process Planning in Powder Bed Fusion System -- A Review

Powder bed fusion (PBF) is one of the current additive manufacturing techniques that can fabricate almost fully dense functional metal components. Through a layer by layer fabrication methodology, complex geometries to meet the requirements of aerospace, automotive, biomedicine industries, etc. can be produced. The success of a build largely depends on having a flawless pre-process planning, including build orientation selection, support structure optimization, process parameter chosen, etc., which closely relates to the quality of the final products. Geometric inaccuracy and poor surface quality can occur due to a bad build plan. This review presents the crucial general planning rules for the build process. Build orientation selection, support structure optimization, and process parameter chosen in terms of residual stress reduction are the mainly concerns, which have been surveyed and discussed. The overall objective of this work is to help setup build plans that can ensure precise dimensions and high surface quality among the built components.