Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module User Guide

Thermo-Calc Version 2025a

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 AM Plot Type: Parity Plot 76
Contents
AM Plot Type: Melt Pool vs Energy
Density 81
Introduction to the Additive
AM Plot Type: Thermal Gradient vs.
Manufacturing (AM) Module 5
Solidification Rate 83
About the Additive Manufacturing (AM)
AM Plots: Table View Options 86
Module 6
Additive Manufacturing Workflow 87
Available Options 10
Setting Up the Additive Manufacturing
Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module
Simulation 88
Help Resources 16
Additive Manufacturing Templates 93
Network License Restrictions 17
Working with the Activity Nodes
General Theory and Feature for an AM Simulation 95
Overview 18
AM Calculator 96
Additive Manufacturing Module Theory 19
AM Calculator Conditions Settings 99
Additive Manufacturing Simulation
Types 31 AM Calculator Experiment File
Requirements 113
Steady-state Calculation Types 33
AM Calculator Materials Properties
About Heat Source Calibration 34
Settings 118
About the Keyhole Model 38
AM Calculator Options Settings 122
About the Absorptivity Model 42
AM Calculator: Working with Probe
AM Plots and Tables 51 Data 124

About the AM Plot Types 52 AM Calculator: Plot Renderer Settings 126

AM Plot Type: 3D Plot 58 Working with AM Visualizations 143

AM Plot Type: Plot Over Line (2D) 65 AM Visualizations Window Plot

Toolbar 149
AM Plot Type: Probe (2D) 66
Menu or Keyboard Options: Geometry
AM Plot Type: Heat Source Calibration and 3D Plots 152
Parameters 68
Rotate, Zoom, and Pan 3D Plots:
AM Plot Type: Melt Pool Dimensions 70 AM Calculations 155
AM Plot Type: Printability Map 71

Contents ǀ 3 of 274
Overlaying Plots in the AM Module 156 AM_11: Comparing Single Tracks
Printed on Casted and LPBF Substrates 257
Visualizing Heat Source Calibrations 157
AM_12: Using AM Calculator Probe
Visualizing Batch Calculations in the
Data with the Precipitation Module
AM Module 167
(TC-PRISMA) 267
Additive Manufacturing (AM)
Module Examples 173

AM_01: Transient Simulation of a

Single Track 174

AM_02: Transient and Steady-state

Simulations of a Single Track 181

AM_03: Steady-state Simulations 187

AM_04: Scheil Transient Steady-state 192

AM_05: Using AM Calculator Probe

Data with the Diffusion Module
(DICTRA) 199

AM_06a: Calibrating a Heat Source for

a 316L Steel 208

AM_06b: Using the Calibrated Heat

Source for a 316L Steel 215

AM_07: Batch Calculations for an

IN718 Alloy 220

AM_08a: Grid Calculation for a Ti64

Alloy 227

AM_08b: Batch Calculations for a Ti64

Alloy 234

AM_09a: Grid Calculation for an

SS316L Alloy 240

AM_09b: Batch Calculations for

an SS316L Alloy 246

AM_10: CET Transition in an IN718

Alloy 252

Contents ǀ 4 of 274
 Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module User Guide

Introduction to the Additive Manufacturing (AM)

Module

In this section:

About the Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module 6

Available Options 10

Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module Help Resources 16

Network License Restrictions 17

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 Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module User Guide

About the Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module

This guide is a supplement to the full Thermo-Calc documentation set. Access the
help in Thermo-Calc by pressing F1, or choose Help → Online help, or click
Online Help on the main My Project Configuration window. See "Additive Man-
ufacturing (AM) Module Help Resources" on page 16 to learn other ways to access
information.

The Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module (also referred to as the AM Module) is an Add-on
Module to Thermo-Calc and it is available in Graphical Mode as the AM Calculator. The aim of
the Additive Manufacturing Module is to better understand the laser powder bed fusion (LPBF)
process by predicting the temperature distribution and melt pool geometry as a function of
process parameters and using material properties from the Thermo-Calc thermodynamic and
properties databases. Special focus is to have a unified treatment of alloy-dependent material
properties and process parameters when solving the multiphysics problem of a moving heat
source that melts and solidifies metal powder. The multiphysics simulation involves thermal
conduction, fluid flow, evaporation-, radiation-, and convective-heat loss.

The Module can simulate the transition from conduction- to keyhole-mode. With experimental
melt pool data you can calibrate the heat source. The calibrated heat source can be used to
predict additional process conditions and/or to construct printability (aka process) maps.

Furthermore, once you have the temperature distribution, for instance as a function of time
and space, you can also use this information for other Thermo-Calc Add-on-Module simulations
such as with the Diffusion Module (DICTRA) or the Precipitation Module (TC-PRISMA), or for
input to other external finite element programs.

Evaluation of the following is possible depending on the calculation type.

Steady-State
l Size of melt pool
l Peak temperature
l Velocity of fluid flow
l Property variations through the melt pool (temperature, viscosity, thermal conductivity,
density) or any selected line

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l 2D sectioning in any plane

l Heat source calibration
l Thermal gradient and solidification rate
l Keyhole mode (with a Gaussian heat source) with or without fluid flow.

Transient and Transient with Heat Source from Steady-state

l Temperature vs. time response at selected points of the build and how this changes
with process parameters
l Time-dependence of the properties listed above under steady-state
l Thermal gradient and solidification rate
l Connect the above temperature vs. time response with the Diffusion Module (DICTRA)
and/or the Precipitation Module (TC-PRISMA)
l Keyhole mode (with a Transient from Steady-state calculation using a Gaussian heat
source) with or without fluid flow.

Overview of the Content

In This Guide
There are "Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module Help Resources" on page 16 and "Network
License Restrictions" on page 17 to consider and access.

Theory is included in a variety of feature topics. Some basic equations pertaining to the logic
behind the simulation and settings are discussed in "Additive Manufacturing Module Theory"
on page 19, as well as particular details about other features are discussed in "About Heat
Source Calibration" on page 34, "About the Keyhole Model" on page 38, and "About the
Absorptivity Model" on page 42, for example.

Feature overviews are covered in a summary of the "Additive Manufacturing Simulation Types"
on page 31 as well as the "Steady-state Calculation Types" on page 33 and associated "About
the AM Plot Types" on page 52, which links you to feature-based topics for each calculation or
plot type.

The workflow for the AM Module is outlined in "Setting Up the Additive Manufacturing
Simulation" on page 88 and there are two default "Additive Manufacturing Templates" on
page 93 you can use to start defining your project. You can also add nodes individually to build

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your own tree. There are two workflows, and in either workflow, defining the AM Calculator
involves choosing one of the available simulation types: Steady-state, Transient, or Transient
with heat source from Steady-state.

Then you can start building the simulation using the activity nodes and depending on which
workflow you start with.

This involves the standard System Definer and Scheil Calculator settings, which are the same as
what is used with a standard Thermo-Calc configuration. When you add an Additive
Manufacturing Template (and need to generate some materials properties or do not have a
material library to use), then some unique default settings for the Scheil Calculator and these
particular types of simulations are already set by default. These are discussed in "Setting Up the
Additive Manufacturing Simulation" on page 88.

This set of topics specifically includes details about the settings for the "AM Calculator" on
page 96 and the specialized "AM Calculator: Plot Renderer Settings" on page 126. There are
many additional specialized sections related to working with, for example, probe data as well as
experimental data files that are used in heat source calibrations and batch calculations.

There are many details related to visualizing the plots discussed in several sections, starting
with "Working with AM Visualizations" on page 143 and then extended with specialized
sections "Visualizing Heat Source Calibrations" on page 157 and "Visualizing Batch Calculations
in the AM Module" on page 167. The power of the AM Module is that there are many ways
visualize both the set up (i.e. you can preview a variety of settings) and then finally examine
and work with your results using the "AM Visualizations Window Plot Toolbar" on page 149 and
many other settings.

There are also several examples included with the installation that are generally discussed and
described in the examples section or as part of the Graphical Mode Examples Guide.

Databases
For compatibility with the Additive Manufacturing Module, a database needs the following
properties added in addition to the thermodynamics: surface tension for liquid, viscosity for
liquid, thermal conductivity, molar volume, and a complete gas description.

Available Databases
The Additive Manufacturing Module is currently available together with the following
databases, starting with the version indicated:

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l Aluminum-based Alloys Database (TCAL9 and newer)

l Copper-based Alloys Database (TCCU6)
l High Entropy Alloys Database (TCHEA6 and newer)
l Magnesium-based Alloys Database (TCMG6 and newer)
l Molybdenum-based Alloys Database (TCMO1)
l Nickel-based Superalloys Database (TCNI12)
l Niobium-based Alloys Database (TCNB1)
l Noble Metal Alloys Database (TCNOBL3)
l Solder Alloy Solutions Database (TCSLD5 and newer)
l Steel and Fe-alloys Database (TCFE13 and newer)
l Titanium and TiAl-based Alloys Database (TCTI5 and newer)

Read more about the Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module on our website
including the details about database compatibility or to watch an introductory
webinar. You can also use the Getting Started Guide to learn about the key
features available.

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Available Options

The Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module is an Add-on Module to the core Thermo-Calc
software.

A separate license is required to perform calculations with the Additive

Manufacturing (AM) Module. Without a license you are in Demo Mode where you
can, for example, open and view example set ups, run some examples, add
templates and nodes to the Project window, adjust some Configuration settings,
and preview some functionality on the Visualizations window.

The Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module is not available with the free
Educational version of Thermo-Calc.

Additive Manufacturing Templates

Two types of Additive Manufacturing templates are under Applications and these are available
to all Thermo-Calc users when in Graphical Mode. If you are in DEMO (demonstration) mode
then this is indicated by the addition of DEMO text. See Figure 1.

Using the Templates

After opening Thermo-Calc in Graphical Mode, in the templates section under Applications,
click the Additive Manufacturing button to add a System Definer, Scheil Calculator, AM
Calculator, and Plot Renderer to the Project tree.

This template is used when you need to generate and use data from a Scheil calculation.

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An alternate template is available when you already have data or can directly use or import a
Material Library.

After opening Thermo-Calc in Graphical Mode, in the templates section under Applications,
and to the right of Additive Manufacturing, click the With Material Library button to add an
AM Calculator and Plot Renderer to the Project tree.

Demonstration (Demo) Mode

The Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module is available in a demonstration (DEMO) mode
without an additional AM license. It includes access to the templates, some examples, and
some access to the embedded predefined material properties libraries. You also have access to
the fluid flow settings and a steady-state calculation can be done. However, there are
limitations such as the ability to change settings and to fully run calculations.

What is Included?
l Some examples (i.e. AM_01, AM_02, AM_03, and AM_06b) use embedded and
predefined Material Properties libraries that are included for all users. Although these
examples can be run without a license, you cannot make any changes to the settings. If
changes are made, the Perform button can still be clicked but the calculation will fail
and a message displays above the Perform Tree button to inform you of the need for a

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license. In addition, the Event Log displays an error message, ERROR AM Calculation:
AM Calculation in Demo mode has limited functionality. See Figure 2.

l Generally, when in DEMO mode and using the With Materials Library template, you can
perform a calculation with default values. You cannot change any setting, including the
calculation types (i.e. Steady-state, Transient, or Transient with heat source from
Steady-state) as well as the Material Properties library i.e. meaning only Steady-state
with the IN625 library is available with the default setup is possible.
l All plot configurations are possible to perform in the above cases.
l The following examples require a full license to the Additive Manufacturing (AM)
Module to run, plus often additional licenses (i.e. for databases or other Add-on
Modules):
l AM_04, AM_05, AM_06a, and AM_07 to AM_12.
l For those without the applicable licenses, you can still open the examples to
review the settings and then refer to the documentation for discussions of what
it is showing

You can also view the Getting Started Guide on the website, which uses AM_04 in
the example.

Figure 1: The templates indicate that you are in DEMO mode and would need an AM license to fully
use the templates or run certain examples as listed in the text.

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Figure 2: When in DEMO mode and you click on the AM Calculator node, the above note is included
at the bottom of the Configuration window to remind you that a license is needed for full
functionality. The Perform Tree button is not always available and sometimes even if it is available to
click, the calculation itself cannot complete due to lack of a license. There will also be an error
message in the Event Log to indicate the need for a license.

Material Properties and Libraries

All predefined Material Properties libraries are available if you have a license for
the Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module, even if you do not have the alloy
database it is created with.

Create or Import Your Own Material Library

The use of the Scheil Calculator with an AM Calculator provides you with a way to generate the
data you need to feed into any AM calculation. When this Scheil calculation is completed, and if
you have a full license, you can save the results to the Material Properties Library for later use.
From the AM Calculator there is an option to use either Scheil data (when it is connected to the
Scheil Calculator) or predefined library data (as long as you have a license to the Additive
Manufacturing (AM) Module the calculations can be run fully). With the applicable license, you
can also import your own material library for a particular alloy of interest and then you can just
use the AM Calculator (i.e. the With Material Library template setup) without needing the
additional Scheil calculation step.

Users with a full Additive Manufacturing license can access all the predefined libraries for use in
calculations (and also can create and import their own libraries and save these for reuse).

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Other Options

Using Data with other Add-on Modules

When you also have licenses either for the Diffusion Module (DICTRA) and/or the
Precipitation Module (TC-PRISMA), for transient simulations you can additionally
include probe data from the AM Calculator in the set up of the thermal profile for
diffusion and precipitation calculations, respectively.

See "AM Calculator: Working with Probe Data" on page 124.

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Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module and TC-Python

When you also have a license for the TC-Python Software Development Kit, you
can use the Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module functionality. Some examples
are available with just a TC-Python license. Learn more about TC-Python on our
website.

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Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module Help

Resources

'Online' Help: No Internet Required

There are several ways to access online help in a browser. The content opens in a browser but
uses local content so you do not need an Internet connection except for links to external
websites.

First open Thermo-Calc, then choose one of these options:

l Press <F1> on the keyboard.

l Select Help → Online Help.
l On the My Project Configuration window, click Online Help.
l At the bottom of any Configuration window, click Help.

There are several resources available on our website to help you learn how to use
Thermo-Calc and other Add-on Modules. Go to the Getting Started Guides page
and choose one of the guides that provides new users an introduction to setting
up simple calculations in Graphical Mode. The information there is also in this help
documentation.

Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module Specific Information

Read more about the Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module on our website
including the details about database compatibility or to watch an introductory
webinar. You can also use the Getting Started Guide to learn about the key
features available.

For more Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module learning resources, visit the video
tutorials on our website or our YouTube playlist.

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Network License Restrictions

The Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module requires a separate license. If you are using a
network client installation of Thermo-Calc, then you may not be able to use it even if you have
access to a license server with a valid network license file. The reason for this is because other
clients who are part of your network installation may have checked out all instances of the
network license allowed to run simultaneously.

For users with a network license, you must exit Thermo-Calc to release the license
for other users. The license is checked out as soon as you add an AM Calculator
and remains unavailable to other users until you exit the program.

With a network license, and if as per above you temporarily do not have access to a
license, you are automatically put into Demo Mode. Then the AM Calculator is
available.

Search the online help or see the Thermo-Calc Installation Guide for more about
network licenses.

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General Theory and Feature Overview

In this section:

Additive Manufacturing Module Theory 19

Additive Manufacturing Simulation Types 31

Steady-state Calculation Types 33

About Heat Source Calibration 34

About the Keyhole Model 38

About the Absorptivity Model 42

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Additive Manufacturing Module Theory

This section is an overview of the underlying fundamental theory used and applied to the
calculations when you are setting up the "AM Calculator" on page 96 using one of the "Additive
Manufacturing Simulation Types" on page 31.

The settings related to the following are defined for the "AM Calculator" on
page 96 starting with the "AM Calculator Conditions Settings" on page 99 section.

Energy Equation: The Enthalpy Formulation

The following formulation is based on a simple assumption that each volume element, which
may contain several dendrites or a considerable part of a dendrite, is approximated as
homogeneous, i.e., it is sufficient to characterize the whole volume with a single set of state
variables. This assumption thus excludes the direct account of varying composition caused by
microsegregation within the element.

The enthalpy formulation is based on the conservation of energy and is essentially equivalent
with Fourier’s second law:

[Eq. 1]

is the enthalpy density and is its time derivative.

The enthalpy density is related to the molar enthalpy and molar volume by:

[Eq. 2]

denotes the divergence operator and is the heat flux given by Fourier’s law:

[Eq. 3]

where is the heat conductivity, denotes the gradient operator and is the temperature.
is a source term and represents the heat added from the outside at a certain point. In
modeling of a process like welding or additive manufacturing this is a key term and requires a
lot of modeling.

As state functions the enthalpy and the molar volume depend on temperature, state of phase,
and composition of the individual phases. In a volume element approximated as homogeneous,
one thus has:

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 Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module User Guide

[Eq. 4]

[Eq. 5]

where is the mole fraction of the phase and is the mole fraction of in . The time
derivatives thus are:

[Eq. 6]

[Eq. 7]

Here is the molar heat capacity of the phase and its volumetric thermal expansion. For a
given volume element the rates can be calculated from Thermo-Calc for the temperature,
fraction of phases and their composition with the input of the rates and .

The rate of change of the enthalpy density, i.e., the left-hand side of Eq. 1 thus is obtained as:

[Eq. 8]

The first term inside the brackets represents the change for a constant number of atoms due to
a change in temperature or phase. The second term represents a change in volume for a
constant number of atoms. However, the second term is balanced by a corresponding
contribution in the heat flux, which we do not usually account for, and we should thus leave it
out.

[Eq. 9]

The fraction of phases sums up to unity and in the case of only one solid phase:

In most treatments the positive quantity

treated as constant and referred to as the latent heat. It is also common to neglect the
difference in heat capacity between solid and liquid and the variation of with
composition. Eq. 6 then is simplified into

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[Eq. 10]

By the same token

is often approximated as constant and so Eq. 7 is simplified into

[Eq. 11]

where is given by Eq. 5 and yields

Eq. 9 now becomes:

[Eq. 12]

and Eq. 1 becomes:

[Eq. 13]

The Equivalent Heat Capacity Method Using Thermo-Calc

If it is further assumed that the fraction liquid is a unique function of temperature one has:

[Eq. 14]

and Eq. 13 may be further simplified to:

[Eq. 15]

where the effective heat capacity is given by:

[Eq. 16]

Eq. 15 is a normal heat-flow equation and the complication of the liquid/solid phase
transformation is taken into account by means of an effective heat capacity. This method is
referred to as the equivalent heat-capacity method by Rappaz [1989Rap].

It then remains to be discussed how to determine . It must be given by some extra

information. Traditionally it was taken from experimental information but more recently it has
been taken from the Scheil equation. The original equation was based on a number of

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approximations which are unnecessary today when thermodynamic and properties databases
and efficient software such as Thermo-Calc are available. In fact, when using Scheil in Thermo-
Calc one can directly calculate , referred to as apparent heat capacity, for a given initial
composition of the liquid. A possible approach thus is to calculate for the alloy under
consideration and then store the result as a table and use that in the solution of Eq. 15. The
molar volume may be extracted from the same calculation. An example for a 316L type of
stainless steel is shown in the plots below.

Figure 3: Results of a Scheil simulation of Fe-18Cr-10Ni alloy showing the mass fraction of the liquid
(left) and the apparent heat capacity (right) both as a function of temperature.

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Figure 4: Molar volume from a Scheil simulation of Fe-18Cr-10Ni alloy. The right plot shows all phases
as a function of temperature.

The Enthalpy Method Using Thermo-Calc

In the enthalpy method we keep Eq. 1 and use Eq. 9 to write

[Eq. 17]

As pointed out by Rappaz [1989Rap] there is no mathematical difference between the enthalpy
method and the equivalent heat capacity method because the former is simply the integral of
the heat capacity over . For numerical reasons the cusps in the heat capacity may be
disadvantageous and the enthalpy has a nicer behavior as shown in the plot below, where it
gives temperature as a unique function of enthalpy.

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Figure 5: Enthalpy from a Scheil simulation of Fe-18Cr-10Ni alloy.

In the Additive Manufacturing Module, we therefore use Eq. 17 to predict the evolution of
temperature during the laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) process for the given material
properties and process parameters.

Steady-state Formulation
An important approximation is when one can solve the stationary heat-flow equation for a
volume element moving with the heating source. In that case, we neglect the left-hand side of
Eq. 17 and add a translation term as follows:

[Eq. 18]

Where is the velocity of the heat source. In case of additive manufacturing, is the scanning
speed.

Fluid Flow
When there is also fluid flow involved, a fluid transport term has to be added to the heat-flow
equation and one obtains:

[Eq. 19]

where is the velocity vector field and may be imposed or obtained from the solution of the
Navier-Stokes equation:

[Eq. 20]

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where is the density related to the molar volume by means of

[Eq. 21]

is the molar weight in kg mol-1. is the viscosity, is a volume force, e.g., gravitational
forces, and is the internal pressure. The equation is often combined with approximating the
liquid as incompressible.

[Eq. 22]

Large Eddy Simulation Used for Fluid Flow

The use of a subgrid model [1963Sma] relies on the eddy-viscosity assumption and this is
applied to account for the unresolved turbulent motions that cannot be directly simulated due
to computational limitations. The Smagorinsky model is the default for fluid flow, and it
provides a simple way to estimate Subgrid-scale (SGS) viscosity in large eddy simulation as,

where:

l is the Smagorinsky constant (default value is 0.18).

l represents the filter width (length scale).
l
is the magnitude of the resolved strain rate tensor.

Modeling Heat Source

It is crucially important to correctly model the heat source in AM simulations since the heat
source not only affects the size of the melt pool but also determines the temperature gradients
around the melt pool. In the Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module, there are three types of
heat source models: Gaussian, Double-ellipsoidal, and Conical.

Also see additional theory related to heat sources in "About Heat Source
Calibration" on page 34.

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Gaussian Heat Source

The first model is a surface heat source model which was initially proposed by Pavelic et al.
[1969Pav]. By surface heat source model, it is meant that the power input from the heat source
is only defined on the top surface of the workpiece, as a Neumann boundary condition on the
computational domain, and the heat energy then diffuses into the workpiece depending on the
thermal diffusivity of the selected material. As suggested by Pavelic et al., the heat flux (W/m2 )
is defined as Gaussian distribution around the center of the heat source, deposited on the top
surface of the domain, as given in the equation below. A schematic representation of the heat
flux, as defined by Gaussian heat source is shown in the figure below.

[Eq. 23]

Where is the power density deposited on the top surface (W/m2 ), denotes absorptivity of
the laser beam, is the power of the heat source (W), is the laser spot radius, and and
denote coordinates of the computational domain while and represent the location of the
heat source.

Figure 6: Schematic representation of energy distribution in Gaussian heat source model.

Also see additional theory related to using a Gaussian heat source with the
keyhole option in "About the Keyhole Model" on page 38.

Double Ellipsoidal (Goldak) Heat Source

The second heat source model in the AM Module is a volumetric heat source model which was
first proposed by Goldak et al. [1984Gol], and is now commonly used in LBPF simulations. In
contrast to the surface heat source model, in the volumetric heat source model, the power
input is defined not only on the surface of the workpiece but also inside the powder bed, along
the depth of the powder bed. The heat distribution in the double-ellipsoidal heat source model
is given by a combination of two ellipsoids; one in the front quadrant of the heat source and
the other in the rear quadrant, as shown in the figure below. The power density is thus given by
two different expressions, one for each quadrant of the heat source.

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[Eq. 24]

Where and are the power densities (W/m3 ) in the front and rear quadrant of the heat
source, while and are the semi-axes of the front and rear ellipsoids, respectively. and
are the semi-axes along the width and depth of the melt pool. and are the proportional
coefficients for the front and rear ellipsoid of the heat source, with the condition
is then given as follows:

[Eq. 25]

Figure 7: Schematic representation of energy distribution in double ellipsoidal heat source model.

Conical Heat Source

The third heat source model in the AM Module is also a volumetric heat source model, which
was first employed for welding simulations but due to inherent similarities between welding
and LPBF processes, this model is also commonly used for AM simulations. The conical heat
source model is defined by a Gaussian heat distribution on the top surface of the workpiece
and a conical distribution along the depth of the powder bed. A schematic representation of
the energy distribution for conical heat source model is shown below.

Figure 8: Schematic representation of energy distribution in conical heat source model.

The power density for the conical heat source is given as follows [2019Zha]:

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[Eq. 26]

with

where and are the cone radius at the top and bottom, respectively, while is the height of
the cone.

Numerical Boundary Conditions

In order to obtain temperature distribution during the LPBF process in the Additive
Manufacturing (AM) Module, incorporating fluid flow inside the melt pool, we couple energy
equations with the Navier-Stokes equations, as explained earlier. In order to accurately reflect
the physical process, both of these equations are subjected to a certain set of boundary
conditions, which are given as follows.

Boundary Conditions for Energy Equation

The energy equation is subjected to four different boundary conditions. The first boundary
condition is defined on the top surface (either the powder bed surface or the solid substrate)
and represents the energy lost due to convection and radiation to the surrounding gas.

[Eq. 27]

where is the convective heat transfer coefficient, is the surface radiation emissivity and

is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant. is the ambient temperature or the temperature of the

surrounding gas in the build chamber and can be set in the AM Calculator configuration.

The second boundary condition represents the heat lost through the vertical walls of the
domain and for simplicity we have chosen adiabatic boundary conditions for these surfaces.
The boundary condition for the vertical walls of the computational domain is thus given as:

[Eq. 28]

The third boundary condition reflects the temperature of the base plate and is therefore
applied to the bottom of the computational domain. Here we have assumed that the base plate
of the build part is kept at a constant temperature and the boundary condition is therefore
given as:

[Eq. 29]

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is the base plate temperature and can be set in the AM Calculator configuration.

The fourth and the most important boundary condition is the evaporation boundary condition
that represents the heat lost due to evaporation of the material. Evaporation is implemented
using a physics-based approach where the heat loss due to evaporation ( ) is given as:

[Eq. 30]

where is the evaporation flux and is the evaporation enthalpy. For a multicomponent
system, the evaporation flux is given as follows:

[Eq. 31]

where is the driving force for evaporation, is the molar mass of the gas, is the gas
pressure inside the chamber, is the atmospheric pressure, and is the universal gas
constant. The driving force for evaporation, the evaporation flux, and the molar mass of the gas
are all temperature-dependent material properties which are obtained from Thermo-Calc
databases and are included in the material library whereas the gas pressure inside the chamber
can be set from the AM Calculator configuration.

Boundary Conditions for Navier-Stokes Equations

For the velocity, a no-slip boundary condition is used for the bottom surface of the
computational domain. A no-slip boundary assumes that at a solid boundary, the fluid will have
zero velocity relative to the boundary. For the pressure, a pinned boundary condition is used.

For the melted liquid at the top, the symmetry (front - in a steady-state simulation), and the
keyhole surfaces, the free-slip boundary is used.

The most important boundary condition in Navier-Stokes setup is the Marangoni boundary
condition that reflects the tangential force on the surface of the melt pool due to temperature
variation of surface tension or the so-called Marangoni effect. In AM, large temperature
gradients on the surface of the melt pool, leads to the Marangoni effect and is the primary
cause of convective flow inside the melt pool. The Marangoni shear stress ( ) is modeled using
the following equation:

[Eq. 32]

where is the surface tension and represents the tangential component of the spatial
derivative.

Surface tension is also a temperature-dependent material property which is obtained from

Thermo-Calc databases and is included in the material library.

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Thermophysical Properties of Powder Material

When the option “Use separate material properties for powder” is selected, a different thermal
conductivity, density and molar volume is used for the powder material as compared to the
solid substrate. The above mentioned properties depend on the porosity ( ) of the powder. The
density ( ) and molar volume ( ) of the powder are then simply given as follows:

For thermal conductivity of powder , an empirical expression is used which was

suggested by Xue and Barlow [1991Xue]. The thermal conductivity of powder thus also depends
on the conductivity of the surrounding gas. For simplicity, the surrounding gas is assumed to be
air. The thermal conductivity of powder is given as follows:

[Eq. 33]

where .

References
[1963Sma] J. Smagorinsky, General circulation experiments with the primitive equations: I. The
basic experiment. Mon. Weather Rev. 91, 99–164 (1963).

[1969Pav] V. Pavelic, Experimental and computed temperature histories in gas tungsten arc
welding of thin plates. Weld. J. Res. Suppl. 48, 296–305 (1969).

[1984Gol] J. Goldak, A. Chakravarti, M. Bibby, A new finite element model for welding heat
sources. Metall. Trans. B. 15, 299–305 (1984).

[1989Rap] M. Rappaz, Modelling of microstructure formation in solidification processes. Int.

Mater. Rev. 34, 93–124 (1989).

[1991Xue] S. Xue, J.W. Barlow, Models for the prediction of the thermal conductivities of
powders, Solid Freeform Fabrication Symposium Proceedings, Center for Materials Science,
University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX (1991), pp. 62-69.

[2019Zha] Z. Zhang, Y. Huang, A. Rani Kasinathan, S. Imani Shahabad, U. Ali, Y. Mahmoodkhani,

E. Toyserkani, 3-Dimensional heat transfer modeling for laser powder-bed fusion additive
manufacturing with volumetric heat sources based on varied thermal conductivity and
absorptivity. Opt. Laser Technol. 109, 297–312 (2019).

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Additive Manufacturing Simulation Types

Three simulation types are available on the "AM Calculator" on page 96 – Steady-state,
Transient, and Transient with heat source from Steady-state.

"Additive Manufacturing Module Theory" on page 19

The keyhole model is available when a Gaussian Heat Source is used for either the
Steady-state or Transient with heat source from Steady-state types of simulation
(see "About the Keyhole Model" on page 38. It is available with or without fluid
flow.

Steady-state
For Steady-state simulations, you can also choose to run different "Steady-state
Calculation Types" on page 33.

In the Steady-state mode it is assumed that the temperature distribution and the fluid flow
around the heat source is in steady state and does not change with time. This is useful to get an
estimation of the temperature distribution and size of the melt pool when you assume that the
heat source is moving at a constant speed in a given path. In the single-track experiments,
temperature distribution around the heat source and fluid flow inside the melt pool reach a
steady state very quickly, and you should then perform steady-state simulations to predict melt
pool geometry and cooling rates around the melt pool. In a sense, steady-state simulations give
you an overall picture of the process but in order to get more precise details and predict
temperature distribution in a multi-layer build, as a function of time, you should perform
transient simulations. The benefit of the steady-state option is that these simulations are quick,
and you get a solution typically within 1-5 minutes, depending on the process parameters and
your computational resources. For the steady-state simulations, you can include or exclude
fluid flow inside the melt pool due to the Marangoni effect. For the given processing conditions,
if convection is the dominant mode of heat transfer, inclusion of fluid flow is crucial to enhance
the accuracy of the model by correctly capturing the underlying physical behavior of melting
and solidification of material. Furthermore, you can also perform simulations with a powder
layer on the top of the substrate having different material properties than the bulk material.
The steady-state simulations are performed on a symmetric domain where you specify only the
height of the substrate and the thickness of the powder layer, if present. The length and width

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of the computational domain are determined automatically based on the process parameters.
The temperature distribution is computed using the energy equation while the fluid flow is
modeled using the Navier-Stokes equation.

Transient
In the Transient mode, you can perform full-scale transient simulations in a 3D rectangular build
part and have the possibility to specify a scanning strategy comprising multiple tracks and
multiple layers. Here you can enter the height, width, and length of the entire build part or a
representative segment of the build part and configure a scanning strategy either for a single
track or for multiple tracks (bidirectional or unidirectional). You can also add multiple layers of
powder and rotate the scanning pattern between layers.

Similar to the Steady-state mode, here you can also choose to include fluid flow inside the melt
pool to correctly capture the underlying physical phenomena of melting and solidification of
the material and thereby increasing the accuracy of the model. The inclusion of fluid flow
requires coupling the Navier-Stokes equations together with the energy equation which comes
at the cost of increased numerical complexity resulting in longer simulation times.

Transient with Heat Source from Steady-state

In order to perform full scale 3D simulations in an efficient manner, with multitracks and
multilayers, including fluid flow in the melt pool or with powder layer(s) having different
properties than the solid material, you can use the Transient with heat source from Steady-
state mode. This mode develops a novel approach where the effect of fluid flow due to
Marangoni convection in the melt pool is incorporated without solving for Navier-Stokes
equations in the full-scale 3D domain.

The concept involves the assumption that the temperature distribution and fluid flow inside the
melt pool instantly reach steady state. First you solve for temperature distribution, using the
energy equation and fluid flow due to Marangoni convection, using the Navier-Stokes
equations for the given process parameters in the Steady-state mode. Once you have the
steady state solution, use this solution inside the melt pool and map it as a “heat source” in the
transient simulations. Using this approach, you do not have to solve for the complicated Navier-
Stokes equations at each time step in the transient simulation, yet it still captures the effect of
fluid flow on the shape of the melt pool. Furthermore, it also reduces the computational time
by solving for the most non-linear region in the energy equation i.e., inside the melt pool, only
once, and then reusing the solution as a boundary condition in the transient simulations. This
approach considerably decreases the numerical complexity of the full-scale transient
simulations, which consequently reduces the simulation time without making a significant
compromise on the accuracy of the solution.

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Steady-state Calculation Types

When setting up a Steady-state simulation on the AM Calculator, you can also select different
Calculation Types. These are briefly described here with links to the relevant details.

"Additive Manufacturing Simulation Types" on page 31

Single Point
The standard Gaussian heat source model. See "About Heat Source Calibration" on the next
page for background and Calculation Type (Steady-state) for settings information.

Heat Source Calibration

To calibrate a heat source based on the imported or entered experimental data instead of
performing a single point calculation. All types of heat sources can be used. See "About Heat
Source Calibration" on the next page for background and Calculation Type (Steady-state) for
settings information. For information about previewing configuration settings (on the AM
Calculator) as well as plot results (on the Plot Renderer), see "Visualizing Heat Source
Calibrations" on page 157.

Batch
To include power and scan speed data, which is read from a file such as a spreadsheet. You can
optionally include experimental melt pool width and depth (if there is data), and compare this
to the calculated results using a Parity plot on the Plot Renderer.

For settings information on the AM Calculator, see Calculation Type (Steady-state). For
information about previewing configuration settings (on the AM Calculator) as well as plot
results (on the Plot Renderer), see "Visualizing Batch Calculations in the AM Module" on
page 167.

Grid
To evaluate two axis variables of power and scanning speeds in the specified range and number
of steps. For settings information on the AM Calculator, see Calculation Type (Steady-state). For
Plot Renderer Configuration settings, see "AM Calculator: Plot Renderer Settings" on page 126.

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About Heat Source Calibration

There are models available to define the heat source in the AM process: Gaussian, Double
ellipsoidal, or Conical. All these heat sources rely on different sets of parameters to fully define
the heat input to the powder and solid substrate.

The standard Gaussian heat source model (a Single Point Calculation Type) requires defining
the Absorptivity and the Beam radius on the AM Calculator Configuration window. The
keyhole model takes into account the effect of evaporation recoil pressure that produces a
keyhole, if present for the given processing conditions. Multiple reflections are also included in
the keyhole model to improve the calculation of the keyhole shape. The absorptivity of the
liquid can be calculated but often requires correction due to uncertainty in the model, surface
oxides, and so forth. The beam radius of the heat source of the printer is, however, most often
known but does not always match the definition of the beam size for the Gaussian heat source
used in the simulation. Leveraging the experimental melt pool data and the relation between
melt pool size and energy density can help to calibrate the absorptivity and beam radius for the
Gaussian heat source model.

The keyhole model is available for Gaussian heat sources. See "About the Keyhole
Model" on page 38 for some additional information.

For information about using calculated or constant absorptivity with a Gaussian

Heat Source Calibration, there is additional theory in "About the Absorptivity
Model" on page 42. The associated settings for this type of calibration is in the
subsection "Heat Source Calibration" on page 49.

Similarly, for volume heat sources, i.e. Double ellipsoidal and Conical, it is necessary to enter
four and three parameters, respectively, along with the absorptivity. Since volume heat sources
are a numerical way to correctly capture the shape of the melt pool, it is not always possible to
know the values of these parameters for the processing conditions.

However, according to the literature [2021Gra] you can find a relationship between the size i.e.,
width and depth of the melt pool, and the energy density (defined as the ratio of power and
scanning speed) and based on that, you can also find a relationship between the heat source
parameters and the energy density.

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See "Additive Manufacturing Module Theory" on page 19 for a general overview

including details about the heat sources.

This means that if a set of experimental data for an alloy can be provided in the form of power,
scanning speed, width of the melt pool, and depth of the melt pool, then you can perform a
heat source calibration to calibrate the heat source parameters for the given material. This is
done by running an optimization algorithm for the selected experimental data and then
choosing an appropriate function for each heat source parameter. As a result, the output
includes expressions of the given parameters as a function of the energy density, which can be
saved and is available later in heat source list as a Users heat source. This is for any given
process parameter (i.e. the saved heat source can be used for any process parameter).

When a Users heat source option is available to choose in the heat source list,
then only the Power of the heat source needs to be entered and the rest of the
parameters, including the absorptivity, are automatically included in the
simulation based on the selected expressions when originally saving the heat
source calibration data.

In order to set up the calibration of the heat source, you select the Steady-state simulation
type and then select Heat Source Calibration as the Calculation Type. The calibration is
performed assuming steady-state conditions so most of the configurations are done in the
same way as the Single Point Steady-state simulation. The difference is that you need to
choose which heat source to use, i.e. Gaussian, Double ellipsoidal, or Conical.

For more details about including the Heat Source Calibration Calculation Type
during the simulation set up, go to "AM Calculator Conditions Settings" on
page 99. Then go to "Visualizing Heat Source Calibrations" on page 157 for details
about navigating the various previews and results.

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Heat Source Calibration with Experiment Data

When the Heat Source Calibration is selected in the Steady-state simulation type, there is an
option to import a file with experimental data points that can be used in the simulation. Data
can also be entered directly into the table on the AM Calculator Configuration window.
However, if an Experiment file is imported it needs to be set up in a certain way so that the
software can read the data.

"AM Calculator Experiment File Requirements" on page 113

Once the experiment data is entered, you can view the plot of melt pool dimensions vs. energy
density (P/v) in the Visualizations window, and make a selection of the experiments to be used
for calibration by checking the corresponding checkbox in the Use column. When this is done,
click Perform Tree to perform the calibration.

If you select Depth from the Calibrate for list, then the experimental values for
only the melt pool depth is needed.

Examples Related to Heat Source Calibration

There are two examples included with the installation to help you understand how to calibrate
a heat source and then use the calibration in simulations.

"AM_06a: Calibrating a Heat Source for a 316L Steel" on page 208: This example
demonstrates the calibration of the heat source using the Gaussian and Double
ellipsoidal heat sources.

"AM_06b: Using the Calibrated Heat Source for a 316L Steel" on page 215: The
purpose of this example is to use the saved heat sources from AM_06a and then
validate the results by comparing the melt pool size from the simulations with the
experimental melt pool dimensions. It also uses the keyhole model.

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Reference
[2021Gra] D. Grange, A. Queva, G. Guillemot, M. Bellet, J.-D. Bartout, C. Colin, Effect of
processing parameters during the laser beam melting of Inconel 738: Comparison between
simulated and experimental melt pool shape. J. Mater. Process. Technol. 289, 116897
(2021).

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About the Keyhole Model

In additive manufacturing a laser beam melts the powder, and at high energy density of the
laser also evaporation of the liquid metal occurs. The evaporation causes transfer of
momentum from the metal to the vapour, i.e. a recoil. The conservation of total momentum
then leads to a recoil pressure that pushes down the liquid/gas interface to form a cavity, also
known as a keyhole. However, this free surface is computationally expensive to calculate due to
the very dynamic movements of the keyhole. To reduce the complexity, the Additive
Manufacturing (AM) Module has an analytic model [1994Kap] to pre-compute the keyhole
shape and the corresponding mesh.

Example "AM_06b: Using the Calibrated Heat Source for a 316L Steel" on page 215
includes the use of the keyhole model. The different processing conditions are
selected to simulate both the conduction mode as well as the keyhole mode.

Also see examples AM_07, AM_08a, AM_08b, AM_09a, and AM_09b where the
keyhole model is used with fluid flow.

The analytical keyhole model approximates the heat conduction by a moving line source where
the keyhole shape is obtained by heat balance at the keyhole wall using average material
properties. A point-by-point scheme compares absorbed power and conduction losses to obtain
the local inclination angle of the keyhole walls.

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Figure 9: Side-view of a keyhole and melt pool for the material SS316L with Gaussian beam radius of
40 μm and the absorptivity set to 40%.

When a keyhole is formed, the energy is transmitted into the material through numerous
reflections within the keyhole (see Figure 10).

For metals with an absorption factor of around 30% the reflections can increase the effective
absorption to values around 80% or higher of the total laser beam energy. In the Additive
Manufacturing (AM) Module, multiple reflections are implemented in the analytical keyhole
mode according to the Jahn publication [2020Jah]. This strategy allows for computation of a
keyhole shape, including multi reflections, without implementing a numerically expensive ray
tracing algorithm.

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Figure 10: Ray tracking of the laser beam reflected at the wall of the keyhole.

The keyhole model is limited to the Gaussian heat source without separate material properties
for powder. An additional input is the Rayleigh length of the laser beam where the default value
is 2.5 mm. The Rayleigh length is related to the depth of focus of the heat source. The length is
defined as the distance along the propagation direction of a beam from the waist to the place
where the area of the cross section is doubled.

To include the keyhole feature, go to "AM Calculator Conditions Settings" on

page 99 and in the Heat Source section, you can enable this feature.

See "Additive Manufacturing Module Theory" on page 19 for a general overview

including details about the heat sources.

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References
[1994Kap] A. Kaplan, A model of deep penetration laser welding based on calculation of the
keyhole profile. J. Phys. D. Appl. Phys. 27, 1805–1814 (1994).

[2020Jah] M. Jahn, J. Montalvo-Urquizo, Modeling and simulation of keyhole-based welding as

multi-domain problem using the extended finite element method. Appl. Math. Model. 82,
731–747 (2020).

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About the Absorptivity Model

The absorptivity of a flat metal surface is a function of the alloy composition, temperature, the
wavelength of the heat source, and the angle of incidence.

The absorptivity of a metallic powder is more complex. Most metallic powders are oxidized at
the surface where a thin layer of oxide often increases absorptivity. Multiple reflections of the
laser rays also increases the effective absorptivity, e.g. at surface roughness or between the
particles within the powder layer. The additional complications of the metallic powder are
neglected in this model, which focuses on an ideal flat surface of the liquid phase after the
powder has melted. This simplification can be justified at steady-state conditions when a melt
pool is established and most laser rays hit the liquid surface in the melt pool.

"Additive Manufacturing Module Theory" on page 19 and "About the Keyhole

Model" on page 38.

Laser Beam Reflection

A fraction of the energy of a laser ray ( ) is absorbed when it strikes a surface, the rest of the
energy is reflected ( ), i.e. the absorptivity is given by .

The Fresnel equation describes how the absorptivity depends on the angle of incidence .

Figure 11: A laser ray strikes a surface at the incident angle .

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For an unpolarized laser beam, the reflection coefficient is the average of the parallel and
perpendicular component, denoted by and :

Both components of are given by the Fresnel equations:

The refraction index is a complex number where corresponds to the extinction

coefficient.

The refractive index is directly related to the electric permittivity, :

About the Lorentz-Drude (LD) Model

The Lorentz-Drude model (LD) relates the electric permittivity with the electric resistivity
[2021Yan].

The electric resistivity thermophysical property is included in many Thermo-Calc

databases. For a list of databases that include it, see the Properties that Can Be
Calculated brochure on the website or refer to the specific database
documentation.

The LD model only considers the intraband absorption and is neglecting the interband part. The
interband part of absorption is, however, often less dominant for wavelengths larger than 1
μm; for smaller wavelengths the model shows larger deviations when compared to
experimental data.

For additive manufacturing lasers, the most common wavelength used is 1.06 μm.

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The LD model is used as a first approximation of the dielectric constants of an alloy. The model
is then further calibrated against the available experimental information of dielectric constants,
refraction index, and absorptivity of liquid metal, i.e. the correction functions and are
modeled:

where

l is the mole-fraction of element

l the laser wavelength, and
l the temperature.

The correction improves the model accuracy for the entire wavelength spectrum.

Following the work by Yang [2021Yan], the LD model obtains the real and imaginary parts of the
electric permittivity:

where

l is the plasma frequency,

l is the laser frequency, and
l is the damping frequency.

The plasma frequency is given by:

where

l is the number density of free electrons,

l the absolute value of elementary charge, ,
l is the electron mass, , and

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l is the vacuum permittivity, .

The damping frequency can be expressed as:

where

l is the temperature- and composition-dependent electrical resistivity.

The laser frequency can be expressed as:

where

l is the speed of light in vacuum, and

l is the wavelength of the laser.

The free electron density is assumed to be given directly by the atomic mass and mass
density:

where

l is the Avagadros constant,

l is the mass density of the alloy,
l is the atomic weight of element , and
l is the number of valence electrons per atom of element .

Heat Sources
The LD model for liquid absorptivity describes a material property and is only applicable to the
Gaussian Heat Source where the energy is added to the surface of the material.

The LD model for absorptivity is not applicable to the volume heat sources Double
ellipsoidal and Conical. Volume heat sources assume an effective absorptivity that
indirectly can include the effect of keyholing by increasing the absorptivity as a
function of energy density.

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Gaussian Heat Source

The angle of incidence for a laser ray is zero when no keyhole forms. The angle of incidence
varies greatly within the keyhole and the full angle dependent absorptivity model is used.

Figure 12: A schematic keyhole where three individual laser rays hit the surface at different incident
angle . The keyhole model in the AM Module accounts for multiple reflections, but only the first
reflection for each ray is shown for clarity.

The absorptivity model takes the wavelength of the heat source as input together with a
prefactor that can scale the calculated absorptivity up or down. The scaling can be required to
calibrate the simulations against experiments.

The following absorptivity settings are described in the "AM Calculator Conditions
Settings" on page 99 topic.

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Figure 13: Gaussian Heat Source using the Calculated Absorptivity. The calculated value is scaled with
the value of “prefactor” where the default is 1.0, i.e. to use the calculated value as-is.

Figure 14: Gaussian Heat Source with User-defined function of the absorptivity.

The resulting absorptivity (given the wavelength and prefactor) can be visualized from the
Material Properties tab on the AM Calculator Configuration window.

The following absorptivity options are described in "AM Calculator Materials

Properties Settings" on page 118.

From the Plot list, select:

l Absorptivity to visualize the temperature dependent absorptivity for the liquid phase of
the selected material (Figure 15).
l Absorptivity vs angle to visualize the angle dependent absorptivity at liquidus and the
evaporation temperature (Figure 16).
l Electric resistivity to visualize it as a function of temperature (Figure 17).

The electric resistivity is not directly used in the AM simulations, only

indirectly through the absorptivity model that uses the electric resistivity
when modeling the composition, temperature, and angle dependent
absorptivity.

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Figure 15: The calculated absorptivity as a function of temperature for the alloy IN738LC.

Figure 16: The calculated absorptivity as a function of angle of incidence for the alloy IN738LC. The
red curve shows the absorptivity at the liquidus temperature and the blue curve the corresponding
absorptivity at the evaporation temperature.

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Figure 17: The electric resistivity of the liquid phase for the alloy IN738LC. The electric resistivity is
used in the model for absorptivity for the liquid phase.

Heat Source Calibration

Additional settings are described in the "AM Calculator Conditions Settings" on

page 99 topic.

"AM_06a: Calibrating a Heat Source for a 316L Steel" on page 208

For Gaussian Heat Source Calibration calculations, you can use the temperature and angle
dependent calculated absorptivity and calibrate the scaling prefactor to match the given
experimental data. The settings are on the AM Calculator Configuration window.

For Absorptivity select Calculated (prefactor calibrated) then enter the Wavelength of the
heat source or use the default value.

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In order to use a constant Absorptivity, you can instead select Constant (calibrated), which
uses a constant value of absorptivity i.e. it is not dependent on temperature or incidence angle.
Then you can calibrate that value to match the given experimental data.

For both Absorptivity options (Calculated (prefactor calibrated) or Constant (calibrated)) you
can also either calibrate the Beam radius along with the absorptivity or the prefactor (choose
Calibrated), or use a fixed value of Beam radius and calibrate only the absorptivity (choose
User-defined).

Another setting available with the Gaussian Heat Source Calibration, is to calibrate for both the
Width and depth of the melt pool from the experimental data or use only the Depth of the
melt pool for the calibration. If you choose Width and depth, the Experiment Data values in the
table require both the width and depth of the melt pool whereas if you only calibrate the depth
then the data file needs to only include the information for the depth of the melt pool.

Reference
[2021Yan] Z. Yang, A. Bauereiß, M. Markl, C. Körner, Modeling Laser Beam Absorption of Metal
Alloys at High Temperatures for Selective Laser Melting. Adv. Eng. Mater. 23, 2100137
(2021).

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AM Plots and Tables

In this section:

About the AM Plot Types 52

AM Plot Type: 3D Plot 58

AM Plot Type: Plot Over Line (2D) 65

AM Plot Type: Probe (2D) 66

AM Plot Type: Heat Source Calibration Parameters 68

AM Plot Type: Melt Pool Dimensions 70

AM Plot Type: Printability Map 71

AM Plot Type: Parity Plot 76

AM Plot Type: Melt Pool vs Energy Density 81

AM Plot Type: Thermal Gradient vs. Solidification Rate 83

AM Plots: Table View Options 86

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About the AM Plot Types

When working with an AM Calculator with the Plot Renderer as a successor, the visualization is different from the other calculators available in
Thermo-Calc. When setting up the AM Calculator, there are many options available that impact what plot types are going to be available.
Further, when defining the Plot Renderer, there are additional ways and axis variables or other setting requirements that enable you to display
certain plot types, as well as preview a variety of settings on the Visualizations window.

In addition, when a Plot Renderer is added as a successor to the AM Calculator, the default layout of the Configuration window, with respect to
the different tabs, relates to how the AM Calculator is set up. This is then further related to the tabs located on the Visualizations window.

See "Working with AM Visualizations" on page 143 for information about how these tabs are connected between the windows. Also
see "Overlaying Plots in the AM Module" on page 156.

AM Plot Types

Export Tab Tab Name

Simulation Calculation Display Link to More
Plot Type Result Notes Name Configuration Visualizations
Type Type* Type information
Files Window (Setting) Window (Plot)

From the Display 3D Plot

list select
Steady-state When overlaying
Steady-state, Surface
→ Single certain plots,
Transient, or colormap.
Point, Heat there is also a "AM Plot Type:
Transient with Surface Available when
Source 3D Plot Yes 3D Plot suffix in brackets 3D Plot" on
heat source colormap Temperature,
Calibration, that matches the page 58
from Steady- Surface tension,
Batch, and name of the
state Thermal
Grid AM Calculator it
conductivity, or
Dynamic is connected to.
 AM Plots and Tables ǀ 53 of 274

Export Tab Tab Name

Simulation Calculation Display Link to More
Plot Type Result Notes Name Configuration Visualizations
Type Type* Type information
Files Window (Setting) Window (Plot)

viscosity is
selected as an
Axis variable.

From the Display

list select
Surface
colormap or
Slice
Contour and
then click to
select the Slice
checkbox.

From the Display

e.g. 3D Plot
list select
(AM Calculator
Contour.
1)
Available when
Temperature,
Surface tension,
Contour
Thermal
conductivity, or
Dynamic
viscosity is
selected as an
Axis variable.

From the Display

list select Iso-
Iso-surface surface.
Available when
 AM Plots and Tables ǀ 54 of 274

Export Tab Tab Name

Simulation Calculation Display Link to More
Plot Type Result Notes Name Configuration Visualizations
Type Type* Type information
Files Window (Setting) Window (Plot)

Temperature,
Surface tension,
Thermal
conductivity, or
Dynamic
viscosity is
selected as an
Axis variable.

Available when
Flow velocity
field is selected
as an Axis
variable.
Arrow, 2D Requires that
glyph, Cone, the Fluid flow
or Line including
Marangoni
effect checkbox
is selected on
the
AM Calculator.

Once the plot is "AM Plot Type:

Steady-state
Steady-state, performed, Plot Over Line
→ Single
Transient, or switch between (2D)" on
Point, Heat
Transient with Plot Over Line not a plot and a page 65
Source No Plot Over Line Plot Over Line
heat source (2D) applicable table by clicking
Calibration, "AM Plots:
from Steady- the Table View
Batch, and Table View
state button on the
Grid Options" on
Visualizations
 AM Plots and Tables ǀ 55 of 274

Export Tab Tab Name

Simulation Calculation Display Link to More
Plot Type Result Notes Name Configuration Visualizations
Type Type* Type information
Files Window (Setting) Window (Plot)

window. page 86

"AM Plot Type:

This plot is
Heat Source Heat Source Heat Source
Heat Source not available once
Steady-state Calibration Yes Heat Source Calibration Calibration Calibration
Calibration applicable the calibration is
(2D) Parameters Parameters" on
completed.
page 68

This plot is "AM Plot Type:

Melt Pool
Heat Source not available once Melt Pool Melt Pool
Steady-state Dimensions Yes Heat Source Calibration
Calibration applicable the calibration is Dimensions Dimensions"
(2D)
completed. on page 70

"AM Plot Type:

Also toggle Printability
between Show Map" on
Printability not Table and Hide page 71
Steady-state Batch and Grid Yes Batch or Grid Printability Map
Map (2D) applicable Table on the "AM Plots:
Configuration Table View
window. Options" on
page 86

"AM Plot Type:

Also toggle Melt Pool vs
between Show Energy
Meltpool vs
not Table and Hide Meltpool vs Density" on
Steady-state Batch and Grid Energy Density Yes Batch or Grid
applicable Table on the Energy Density page 81
(2D)
Configuration
window. "AM Plots:
Table View
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Export Tab Tab Name

Simulation Calculation Display Link to More
Plot Type Result Notes Name Configuration Visualizations
Type Type* Type information
Files Window (Setting) Window (Plot)

Options" on
page 86

"AM Plot Type:

Also toggle Parity Plot" on
between Show page 76
not Table and Hide
Steady-state Batch Parity Plot (2D) Yes Batch Parity Plot "AM Plots:
applicable Table on the
Configuration Table View
window. Options" on
page 86

Once the plot is

performed,
switch between
a plot and a
table by clicking
the Table View
button on the
Steady-state, Visualizations "AM Plot Type:
Transient, or Single Point, Thermal window. Thermal
Thermal Gradient
Transient with Heat Source Gradient vs not Thermal Gradient vs Gradient vs.
No It is also possible vs Solidification
heat source Calibration, Solidification applicable Solidification Rate Solidification
to visualize this Rate
from Steady- Batch, or Grid Rate (2D) Rate" on
state via the 3D Plot page 83
tab when you
define the Axis
variables
Solidification
rate and
Thermal
gradient.
 AM Plots and Tables ǀ 57 of 274

Export Tab Tab Name

Simulation Calculation Display Link to More
Plot Type Result Notes Name Configuration Visualizations
Type Type* Type information
Files Window (Setting) Window (Plot)

Probe positions
and time steps
available.
Defined and
available from a
specific a tab on
"AM Plot Type:
the Plot
Transient or Probe (2D)" on
Configuration
Transient with page 66
not window.
heat source not applicable Probe (2D) No Probe Probe "AM Plots:
applicable Once the plot is
from Steady- Table View
state performed,
Options" on
switch between
page 86
a plot and a
table by clicking
the Table View
button on the
Visualizations
window.

* For Transient and Transient with heat source from Steady-state simulations there are no additional Calculation Types selected.
 Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module User Guide

AM Plot Type: 3D Plot

The 3D Plot is available with all simulation types (Steady-state, Transient, and Transient with
heat source from Steady-state). It is also available with Steady-state calculation types Heat
Source Calibration, Batch, and Grid.

The 3D Plot type has its own tab on both the Plot Renderer Configuration window and the
Visualizations window. This plot type is further visualized using additional Display options.

Further, when connecting two AM Calculators to plot combinations of axis variables, separate
tabs are added to the Visualizations window that have a suffix of the name of the
AM Calculator added in brackets, e.g. 3D Plot (AM Calculator 1). It is recommended that the
AM Calculator is renamed to help you identify which tab belongs to which calculation.

See "Overlaying Plots in the AM Module" on page 156 for more details and "AM
Plot Type: Thermal Gradient vs. Solidification Rate" on page 83 for an example.

3D Plot Display Options

The Display options available are also based on the Axis variable selected. The Slice plot, which
is a unique type of plot, is also available when either Surface colormap or Contour is selected.

Surface colormap, Contour, and Iso-surface are available when Temperature, Surface tension,
Thermal conductivity, or Dynamic viscosity is selected as an Axis variable.

Arrow, 2D Glyph, Cone, or Line are available when Flow velocity field is selected as an Axis
variable. It also requires that the Fluid flow including Marangoni effect checkbox is also
selected on the AM Calculator.

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Examples

Surface Colormap
This is an example from "AM_01: Transient Simulation of a Single Track" on page 174.

Figure 18: Surface plot of temperature distribution after the single track scan is completed. Probes P1
and P2 can also be seen on the top surface.

Slice Plot
This is an example from "AM_01: Transient Simulation of a Single Track" on page 174.

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Figure 19: Slices of the computational domain, orthogonal to the scanning direction, showing
temperature distribution at different cross-sections. Red tubes show the contour of the melt pool (at
liquidus temperature).

Contour
This is an example using "AM_03: Steady-state Simulations" on page 187 to zoom into the
AM Calculator, which in that example is renamed to Gaussian HS, with Fluid. On the Plot
Renderer, the Display setting is changed from the default to Contour.

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Isosurface
This is an example using "AM_03: Steady-state Simulations" on page 187 to zoom into the
AM Calculator, which in that example is renamed to Gaussian HS, with Fluid. On the Plot
Renderer, the Display setting is changed from the default to Iso-surface.

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Arrow
This is an example using "AM_04: Scheil Transient Steady-state" on page 192 to zoom into one
of the AM Calculators, which in this case is renamed to Steady-state. On the Plot Renderer, and
when the Axis variable is set to Flow velocity field, the Display default setting is Arrow.

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2D Glyph
This is an example using "AM_04: Scheil Transient Steady-state" on page 192 to zoom into one
of the AM Calculators, which in this case is renamed to Steady-state. On the Plot Renderer, and
when the Axis variable is set to Flow velocity field, the Display setting is changed from the
default to 2D Glyph.

Cone
This is an example using "AM_04: Scheil Transient Steady-state" on page 192 to zoom into one
of the AM Calculators, which in this case is renamed to Steady-state. On the Plot Renderer, and
when the Axis variable is set to Flow velocity field, the Display setting is changed from the
default to Cone.

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Line
This is an example using "AM_04: Scheil Transient Steady-state" on page 192 to zoom into one
of the AM Calculators, which in this case is renamed to Steady-state. On the Plot Renderer, and
when the Axis variable is set to Flow velocity field, the Display setting is changed from the
default to Line.

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AM Plot Type: Plot Over Line (2D)

The Plot Over Line plot type is available with all simulation types (Steady-state, Transient, and
Transient with heat source from Steady-state). For Steady-state simulations, it is also available
with Heat Source Calibration, Batch, and Grid calculation types.

The Plot Over Line type is a 2D plot. On the Visualizations window it is available on the Plot
Over Line tab and on the Configuration window on the tab of the same name.

Once the plot is performed, you can also switch between a plot and a Table View using the
button available on the Visualizations window.

The coordinates for the Plot Over Line Transient with heat source from Steady-
state and its Steady-state model are synchronized. This means that if you switch
between these computational models, the Plot Over Line coordinates show the
same result.

Example
This is an example from "AM_01: Transient Simulation of a Single Track" on page 174.

Figure 20: 2D plot over line showing temperature in the tail of the melt pool as a function of distance
plotted along the scanning track.

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AM Plot Type: Probe (2D)

The Probe plot type is available with the Transient and Transient with heat source from
Steady-state simulation types.

The Probe plot type is a 2D plot. On the Visualizations window it is available on the Probe tab
and on the Configuration window on the tab of the same name.

To define a Probe plot requires that Probe Positions are selected on the AM Calculator. Then
when a Plot Renderer is added as a successor, a Probe tab is available on the Configuration
window where you can further define the plot.

Once the plot is performed, you can also switch between a plot and a Table View using the
button available on the Visualizations window.

Probe data can also be used with the Diffusion Calculator and Precipitation
Calculator when these Calculators are added as successors to the AM Calculator.

Example
The example below is taken from "AM_01: Transient Simulation of a Single Track" on page 174.

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Figure 21: 2D probe plot showing temperature evolution as a function of time at probes P1 and P2.

For use of probe data with the Diffusion Module (DICTRA) see "AM_05: Using AM
Calculator Probe Data with the Diffusion Module (DICTRA)" on page 199.

For use of probe data with the Precipitation Module (TC-PRISMA) see "AM_12:
Using AM Calculator Probe Data with the Precipitation Module (TC-PRISMA)" on
page 267.

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AM Plot Type: Heat Source Calibration Parameters

The Heat Source Calibration Parameters plot type is available with a Steady-state simulation
and when Heat Source Calibration is selected as the Calculation Type.

During the set up, the Heat Source Calibration Parameters type also has its own tab called
Heat Source Calibration on the Plot Renderer Configuration window. For more information see
"Visualizing Heat Source Calibrations" on page 157.

"About Heat Source Calibration" on page 34

Example
The following is from "AM_06a: Calibrating a Heat Source for a 316L Steel" on page 208.

Also see the companion example, "AM_06b: Using the Calibrated Heat Source for a
316L Steel" on page 215.

A Heat Source Calibration Parameters plot shows the calibrated heat source parameters as a
function of energy density (P/v) (unit J/mm). From the Plot Renderer Configuration window,
you can also continue to select which experiments to be used to fit the calibration.

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Figure 22: From example AM_06a, the Heat Source Calibration Parameters plot for the double
ellipsoidal calibration.

For instance, you can deselect the points that seem to be outliers or where the error bar in
experimental data is large.

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AM Plot Type: Melt Pool Dimensions

The Melt Pool Dimensions plot type is available with a Steady-state simulation and when Heat
Source Calibration is selected as the Calculation Type. For more information see "Visualizing
Heat Source Calibrations" on page 157.

"About Heat Source Calibration" on page 34

Example
The following is from "AM_06a: Calibrating a Heat Source for a 316L Steel" on page 208.

Also see the companion example, "AM_06b: Using the Calibrated Heat Source for a
316L Steel" on page 215.

A Melt Pool Dimensions plot shows melt pool size, both from experiments and simulations, as
a function of energy density (P/v). This plot can be used to compare the results from the
experiments and optimization simulations.

Figure 23: From example AM_06a, the Melt Pool Dimensions plot for the double ellipsoidal
calibration.

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AM Plot Type: Printability Map

This topic describes the plot type Printability Map, which is available with Batch or Grid
calculations for a Steady-state simulation. A printability map is also known as a process map.

This plot is available with Batch and Grid calculations. However, using it with the
Grid calculation is the preferred method as it provides full coverage of the plot
area. Otherwise, if you are doing a Batch calculation and only base it on
experimental conditions, it often leaves out the most extreme cases so you get
areas in the Printability Map that are blank.

Printability maps allow you to plot the likelihood of three possible defects that occur during
additive manufacturing: Keyholing, lack of fusion, and balling.

There is a video tutorial about the Printability Map on our website and on our
YouTube channel. It is also included in the Additive Manufacturing Module
YouTube playlist.

These examples highlight the use of the printability map: "AM_08a: Grid
Calculation for a Ti64 Alloy" on page 227 and "AM_09a: Grid Calculation for an
SS316L Alloy" on page 240.

These defects occur based on the speed and power used during the AM process. Printability
maps allow you to reduce the risks of these defects by showing the speed and power settings
that are optimal, which in turn allows you to calibrate your system to avoid these issues.

l Keyholing occurs with low scanning speed and high power.

l Lack of fusion occurs with high scanning speed and low power.
l Balling occurs if you increase the scanning speed.

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Figure 24: Printability map for 316L showing regions of keyholing and lack-of-fusion. Experimental
information from Hu et. al. [2019Hu] overlaid as coloured labels showing keyhole porosity (K),
conduction mode with lack-of-fusion porosity (C). Green labels showing experiments without defects
for conduction mode (C) and keyhole mode (K).

The defect regions in the printability maps are defined by functions of the keyhole dimension
(Wk, Dk), melt pool dimensions (W, D, L), hatch distance (h), and powder thickness (t)
[2019Joh].

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Figure 25: When defining the Printability map on the Plot Renderer for an AM Calculator, you can
select from a variety of Functions.

Figure 26: Two single tracks with the melt pool width (W) and depth (D). The hatch distance (h),
powder thickness (t), and the melt pool depth at half of the hatch distance (Dh).

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Keyholing Porosity
Keyholing is a critical feature in additive manufacturing that occurs at high energy densities
(P/v). Keyholing is not only negative, the increased depth of the melt pool can increase
productivity. However, deep and narrow keyholes are unstable and can collapse, and lead to
keyholing porosity. Keyhole porosity appears close to spherical in shape.

Keyholing porosity can be defined to occur if the width/depth ratio of the keyhole is less than
or equal to 1 (i.e. Wk/Dk ≤ 1). Similarly if a volume heat source is used (that lacks information of
the keyhole geometry) the ratio of the melt pool (W/D) can be used instead, where W/D ≤ 1.

Lack of Fusion
Lack of fusion porosity occurs if the melt pool, due to low energy density (P/v), fails to
penetrate the powder thickness. Lack of fusion gives porosity uneven in shape, compared to
keyhole porosity that is close to spherical in shape.

Lack of fusion for a single track can be defined to occur if the melt pool depth is smaller than
the powder thickness, i.e. D/t < 1.0. Additionally the lack of fusion between two tracks, at half
of the hatch distance, can be defined to occur if Dh/t < 1.0.

Balling
The scan tracks can break up and produce agglomerated particles in spherical shape instead of
a single bead. Balling has been defined to occur if ratios W/L [2019Joh] or D/L [2023Kat] are
small .

Additional user-defined defect criteria can be defined with the Custom function using any
combination of the keyhole dimension (Wk, Dk), melt pool dimensions (W, D, L), hatch distance
(h) and powder thickness (t).

References
[2019Hu] Z. Hu, B. Nagarajan, X. Song, R. Huang, W. Zhai, J. Wei, Formation of SS316L Single
Tracks in Micro Selective Laser Melting: Surface, Geometry, and Defects. Adv. Mater. Sci.
Eng. 2019, 1–9 (2019).

[2019Joh] L. Johnson, M. Mahmoudi, B. Zhang, R. Seede, X. Huang, J. T. Maier, H. J. Maier, I.

Karaman, A. Elwany, R. Arróyave, Assessing printability maps in additive manufacturing of
metal alloys. Acta Mater. 176, 199–210 (2019).

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[2023Kat] J. Katagiri, M. Kusano, S. Minamoto, H. Kitano, K. Daimaru, M. Tsujii, M. Watanabe,

Melt Pool Shape Evaluation by Single-Track Experiments and Finite-Element Thermal
Analysis: Balling and Lack of Fusion Criteria for Generating Process Window of Inconel738LC.
Materials (Basel). 16, 1729 (2023).

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AM Plot Type: Parity Plot

This topic describes the plot type Parity Plot which is available with Batch calculations for a
Steady-state simulation. This plot type is only to select on the Plot Renderer when the
simulation uses the Batch Calculation Type with an AM Calculator.

These examples highlight the use of this plot: "AM_07: Batch Calculations for an
IN718 Alloy" on page 220, "AM_08b: Batch Calculations for a Ti64 Alloy" on
page 234 and "AM_09b: Batch Calculations for an SS316L Alloy" on page 246.

Parity plots are used when validating the Steady-state Batch calculation against experimentally
measured melt pool width and depth. The plot shows the experimental width/depth on the X-
axis and the calculated width/depth on the Y-axis. The data should follow the diagonal line for a
perfect match between the calculated and experimental values.

The following are from example AM_07.

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Figure 27: Parity plot comparing experimental versus calculated melt pool width and depth for all the
experiments. The experiments are single tracks on bare plate IN718 with varied power and scan
speed. The Root Mean Square (RMS) error can also be shown as a dashed line.

Figure 28: Alternatively, lines for user-defined Absolute or Relative in % error can be shown instead
by selecting these options on the Configuration window.

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Figure 29: Parity plot comparing experimental versus calculated melt pool width and depth for all the
experiments. The experiments are single tracks on bare plate IN718 with varied power and scan
speed. In this plot, it is configured to show a Relative in % error of 5 instead of the RMS error.

Keyhole Model with Fluid Flow

This is an example application of using the parity plot when the keyhole model includes fluid
flow, which can provide a better prediction of the melt pool size.

"About the Keyhole Model" on page 38

Keyholing can occur with low scanning speed and high power. Including fluid flow in the
simulation makes the predictions of the entire melt pool size more accurate, which is especially
important at higher energy densities when Marangoni forces are strong.

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Figure 30: Fluid flow can make the melt pool wider and longer. This example shows the effect when
enabling fluid flow for 316L for power 50 W and scan speed 400 mm/s. Left images show without
fluid flow and right images with fluid flow enabled. Top row shows the temperature color map.
Bottom row shows the isosurfaces for liquidus and solidus, i.e. the size of the melt pool and mushy
zone.

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Figure 31: Parity plot for 316L showing how the RMS is reduced for the melt pool width when
excluding fluid flow (left) compared to when it is included (right). Experiments from Hu et. al
[2019Hu].

Reference
[2019Hu] Z. Hu, B. Nagarajan, X. Song, R. Huang, W. Zhai, J. Wei, Formation of SS316L Single
Tracks in Micro Selective Laser Melting: Surface, Geometry, and Defects. Adv. Mater. Sci.
Eng. 2019, 1–9 (2019).

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AM Plot Type: Melt Pool vs Energy Density

This topic describes the plot type Melt Pool vs Energy Density which is available with Batch or
Grid calculations for a Steady-state simulation.

These examples highlight the use of this plot: "AM_08b: Batch Calculations for a
Ti64 Alloy" on page 234 and "AM_09b: Batch Calculations for an SS316L Alloy" on
page 246.

This plot type is used when validating the Steady state Batch calculation against experimentally
measured melt pool width and depth. The plot shows the experimental and simulated melt
pool dimensions as a function of the energy density (P/v). The plot type can also be used when
experimental melt pool dimension are lacking, e.g. after the Grid calculation, but then naturally
only shows the simulated melt pool dimensions as a function of the energy density (P/v).

This uses example AM_09b.

Figure 32: Plot comparing experimental versus calculated melt pool dimensions for all the Batch
calculations. The experiments are single tracks with SS316L with varied power and scan speed. The
melt pool width and depth are shown on the Y-axis and the energy density (P/v) on the X-axis.

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Figure 33: For the plot, you can choose what to include on the plot, to show width and/or depth by
selecting the relevant checkboxes on the Configuration window.

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AM Plot Type: Thermal Gradient vs. Solidification

Rate

This topic describes 2D and 3D versions of plots comparing thermal gradient to solidification
rate along the liquid isotherm. Both the 2D and 3D versions are available for steady-state and
transient simulations.

l The 2D version is accessed on the Plot Renderer Configuration window as a tab named
Thermal Gradient vs Solidification Rate. It is visualized on a tab of the same name on
the Visualizations window.
l The 3D version is available on the 3D Plot tab on the Configuration (settings) window. It
is further visualized on two 3D Plot tabs on the Visualizations window.

"AM_10: CET Transition in an IN718 Alloy" on page 252 includes an example of this
plot in both 2D and 3D.

2D Plot
The 2D version of this plot is available on the Thermal Gradient vs Solidification Rate tabs on
both the Configuration (settings) and Visualizations window.

You do not need to configure anything on the AM Calculator to access the 2D plot.

On the Thermal Gradient vs Solidification Rate tab on Plot Renderer Configuration window
you can adjust the settings for the Solidification rate (X-axis) and Thermal gradient (Y-axis).

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As you adjust settings, watch it dynamically change on the Visualizations window. The plot is
on the tab of the same name (Thermal Gradient vs Solidification Rate). You can switch
between the plot and a table format using the Table View button.

"AM Plots: Table View Options" on page 86

This uses example AM_10.

Figure 34: The solidification rate vs thermal gradient is shown on the AM Thermal Gradient
& Solidification Rate Plot Renderer.

3D Plot
The 3D version of this plot is available on the 3D Plot tab on the Configuration (settings)
window. You choose Solidification rate and Thermal gradient as the Axis variable. Use the
and buttons as usual to add and remove quantities.

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On the Visualizations window the comparisons for the different calculation types and variable
combinations are plotted on two 3D Plot tabs.

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AM Plots: Table View Options

There are ways to view AM plot results as a table on either the Configuration or Visualization
windows for various plots and calculation types.

2D Plots
For 2D plots (Plot Over Line, Probe, and Thermal Gradient vs Solidification Rate), and once the
plot is performed, you can switch between a plot and a table by clicking the Table View button
on the Visualizations window.

These plots are available with all calculation types (Steady-state, Transient, and Transient with
heat source from Steady-state) simulations.

Batch and Grid Plots

For Steady-state Batch and Grid calculations, the available plots Printability map, Meltpool vs
energy density, and Parity plot, can also be viewed as a table.

Once the plot is performed, you can toggle to between Show Table and Hide Table on the
Configuration window.

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Additive Manufacturing Workflow

In this section:

Setting Up the Additive Manufacturing Simulation 88

Additive Manufacturing Templates 93

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Setting Up the Additive Manufacturing Simulation

Setting up an Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module simulation can be done in one of two
workflows.

General Overview
The general procedure of a simulation using the Additive Manufacturing Module is the
following:

1. Define the system (Workflow 1 only):

a. Choose a database.
b. Select elements and composition.
2. Retrieve the materials data (Workflow 1 or 2):
a. Either with a Scheil calculation (Workflow 1) or using the materials property data
library (Workflow 2).
b. Apply data smoothing.
3. Set up the AM Calculator (Workflow 1 or 2):
a. Choose a simulation mode Steady-state, Transient, or Transient with heat source
from Steady-state.
b. For Steady-state you can also choose different Calculation Type options such as a
Heat Source Calibration to calibrate a heat source based on the provided
experimental data instead of using just a Single point calculation. Batch and Grid
types are also available.
c. For Steady-state Gaussian heat source simulations, choose to include a keyhole
model with or without fluid flow.
d. Set the simulation conditions.
4. Run the simulation and visualize the results (Workflow 1 or 2) based on the settings, for
example:
a. 3D Plot
b. Plot Over Line or Thermal Gradient vs Solidification Rate (2D). Once the plot is
performed you can also switch to view it in a table.

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c. Probe 2D plot at a probe position (only available for transient calculations). You
can also use and plot probe data with the Add-on Diffusion Module (DICTRA)
and/or Precipitation Module (TC-PRISMA). Once the plot is performed you can
also switch to view it in a table.
d. Heat Source Calibration Parameters and Melt Pool Dimensions: These plots are
available for Heat Source Calibration calculations.
e. Printability Map, Parity Plot, and Melt Pool vs Energy Density: These plots are
available for Batch and Grid calculations. This can also be viewed as a table.

Workflow 1: When You Need to Obtain the Material Properties

Data for the Calculation
Use a System Definer and Scheil Calculator to extract some Scheil data, then feed the data into
the AM Calculator. Then add the Plot Renderer to define the specific AM Calculator Plot
Renderer features and visualize the results. In this workflow, you can also save the results from
the Scheil Calculator into the Material Library and reuse this data in the future.

When you also have licenses either for the Diffusion Module (DICTRA) and/or the
Precipitation Module (TC-PRISMA), for transient simulations you can additionally
include probe data from the AM Calculator in the set up of the thermal profile for
diffusion and precipitation calculations, respectively.

Workflow 2: When You Already Have the Material Properties Data

Available - Material Library
When you know you have the available material library data available, either by using the
provided libraries, importing your own external data, or by saving your own material library
after running a Scheil calculation, then you can directly start defining the AM Calculator and
add and define one or more plots to visualize the results.

The Scheil Calculator and System Definer function the same as with a regular
Thermo-Calc simulation. There are features available on the Scheil Calculator that
are particularly useful to these types of calculations. The Plot Renderer is also
unique to this calculator but is still based on the standard activity node.

The various activity nodes for each workflow are briefly described below.

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System Definer (Workflow 1)

The first step of the set-up is to select which database to use and define the material for the
simulation. This is done in the System Definer.

In a System Definer activity, you select the database to use to retrieve thermodynamic data
and define which elements the system has as components. You can also select the species to
include as well as change the reference temperature and pressure for your components.

A System Definer node can be added either directly to the My Project node or by default
when the Additive Manufacturing template is added.

Scheil Calculator (Workflow 1)

Once you have defined your system, you need to retrieve the materials data necessary for the
AM calculations. This is done using the Scheil Calculator when you are working in Workflow 1.

A Scheil Calculator node can be added either directly to the System Definer node or by default
when the Additive Manufacturing template is added.

ABOUT THE SCHEIL CALCULATOR SETTINGS

The Scheil Calculator in the Additive Manufacturing Module template is configured to generate
the data necessary for the AM calculation. It is configured to start the simulation at a
temperature of 5000 degrees and capture the evaporation and calculate the material
properties down to room temperature. If you add a Scheil Calculator manually from the System
Definer, you need to change these settings yourself. If you are working with different materials,
different settings might be more suitable to your material.

Materials Properties Library (Workflow 1 or 2)

A Scheil calculation using the Scheil Calculator (Workflow 1) can be saved for reuse in the
Materials Libraries. Alternatively, if there is external data available to use, you can skip the
Scheil Calculator and just use a library (Workflow 2). There are also some predefined materials
libraries included with the installation that can be used, and are used, in the examples (e.g.
AM_01, AM_02, and AM_03 and others) so that users without an AM license and necessary
databases can see how this works.

"Available Options" on page 10

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AM Calculator (Workflow 1 or 2)
Add an AM Calculator node to the Scheil Calculator. If you used the Additive Manufacturing
template (on the My Projects Configuration window under Applications), click the node to
display the Configuration settings window.

Transient simulations currently support only cuboid geometries. Both Steady-state

and Transient models use adaptive mesh refinement to decrease computational
cost. You have the option to either choose from the predefined mesh settings that
defines the maximum and minimum element size based on the process
parameters, or specify the maximum and minimum element size yourself.

You can use this either with or without the Scheil and System Definer if you already have the
materials properties calculation you want.

"AM Calculator" on page 96 and "AM Calculator Conditions Settings" on page 99

CHOOSE MATERIALS DATA SOURCE

Once the Scheil simulation is complete, click on the AM Calculator 1 node and then the
Materials Properties tab to see the material property data obtained from the Scheil calculation.
In the Material Properties tab, you can plot the properties required for the AM simulation. This
is also where you select the data source that will be used in the simulation. In the Use data
from: drop-down list you can choose either Scheil Calculator or Library. The Scheil Calculator
option uses the Scheil results that you just calculated, while the Library option uses the data
that was shipped with the software or previously calculated data that you have saved to the
Library.

Visualizations Window

"Working with AM Visualizations" on page 143

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Apply Data Smoothing

Before you run the AM Calculator, it is important that the data you will base the AM calculation
on does not have any sharp peaks or curves to be able to solve the numerical problem. To avoid
this, you can apply smoothing to your data. The default setting is Little smoothing but this can
be changed depending on your simulation.

To determine how much smoothing to apply, you can plot the different properties. In the plot
drop-down list you can select which property you want to plot to check the data and if there
are any sharp peaks or curves in the plot. The plot appears immediately when you select a
property. It is recommended to try running the simulations with only applying Little smoothing.
If the calculation fails, you can increase the smoothing and try again. It is also possible to apply
different levels of smoothing on different properties.

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Additive Manufacturing Templates

There are two templates you can use to access the Additive Manufacturing Module settings and
features in Thermo-Calc.

You can also add nodes individually to build your own tree.

When you also have licenses either for the Diffusion Module (DICTRA) and/or the
Precipitation Module (TC-PRISMA), for transient simulations you can additionally
include probe data from the AM Calculator in the set up of the thermal profile for
diffusion and precipitation calculations, respectively.

Additive Manufacturing Template

On the main Project Configuration window, under Applications, click the Additive
Manufacturing icon. This adds the following activity nodes as a tree in the Project window –
System Definer, Scheil Calculator, AM Calculator, and Plot Renderer. When you add this
Additive Manufacturing template (and need to generate some materials properties or do not
have a material library to use), then some unique default settings for the Scheil Calculator and
these particular types of simulations are already set by default. Then you continue defining the
AM Calculator by choosing one of the available simulation types: Steady-state, Transient, or
Transient with heat source from Steady-state.

There is also an option on the AM Calculator to save the material properties in a material
library, and use these later for a new AM Calculator where you want to make calculations
related to the same alloy.

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With Material Library Template

Click With Material Library to create an activity tree that only includes the AM Calculator and
Plot Renderer nodes. The tree setup does not need the System Definer or Scheil Calculator.
Instead you can select (or import) pre-saved Materials Properties data from a library and use
these for your AM calculations. For example, if you have already run calculations for the Scheil
Calculator for your alloy, and you want to perform a different AM calculation for the same
alloy, this data can now be reused where you start the AM Calculator using the second option
and use the material property data from the material library.

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Working with the Activity Nodes for an AM

Simulation

In this section:

AM Calculator 96

AM Calculator Conditions Settings 99

AM Calculator Experiment File Requirements 113

AM Calculator Materials Properties Settings 118

AM Calculator Options Settings 122

AM Calculator: Working with Probe Data 124

AM Calculator: Plot Renderer Settings 126

Working with AM Visualizations 143

AM Visualizations Window Plot Toolbar 149

Menu or Keyboard Options: Geometry and 3D Plots 152

Rotate, Zoom, and Pan 3D Plots: AM Calculations 155

Overlaying Plots in the AM Module 156

Visualizing Heat Source Calibrations 157

Visualizing Batch Calculations in the AM Module 167

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AM Calculator

Depending how you set up your simulation, the AM Calculator can either be part of the
workflow after a Scheil Calculator or directly at the root below the My Project node.

There is an Additive Manufacturing template available under Applications that

you can use to quickly set up either one of these workflow options for the
AM simulation. See "Additive Manufacturing Templates" on page 93 and "Setting
Up the Additive Manufacturing Simulation" on page 88.

Configuration Window
Once you have added an AM Calculator, the Configuration window has these tabs where there
are many available features to set on the Conditions, Materials Properties, and Options
sections and with the specialized Plot Renderer and toolbar on the Visualizations window.

There are these simulation type pathways to choose: Steady-state, Transient, or Transient with
heat source from Steady-state.

In cases where convection is the dominant mode of heat transfer, fluid flow inside
the melt pool plays a significant role in determining the correct shape of the melt
pool.

For more details about these see "Additive Manufacturing Simulation Types" on
page 31. Also review the "Additive Manufacturing Module Theory" on page 19 as
needed.

l Steady-state: Compute temperature distribution in a steady-state environment, either

on a bare metal substrate or with a powder layer on the top, with the possibility to add
fluid flow inside the melt pool. For this simulation type, you can also choose the
following Calculation Types:

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l Single Point, which is the standard Gaussian heat source model.

l Heat Source Calibration to calibrate a heat source based on the imported or
entered experimental data instead of performing a single point calculation. All
types of heat sources can be used.
l Batch to include power and scan speed data, which is read from a file such as a
spreadsheet. You can optionally include experimental melt pool width and depth
(if there is data), and compare this to the calculated results.
l Grid to evaluate two axis variables of power and scanning speeds in the specified
range and number of steps.

l Transient: Compute temperature distribution in a transient case with the given scanning
strategy including multiple paths and layers and the possibility to add fluid flow inside
the melt pool.
l Transient with heat source from Steady-state: Compute temperature distribution in a
transient case with the given scanning strategy including multiple paths and layers.
l A volume heat source is used in the transient simulations. This is based on the
solution of a steady-state calculation.
l For a Gaussian heat source (Steady-state or Transient with heat source from Steady-
state) you can also include a Keyhole model. This is available with or without fluid flow,
or if you use separate material properties for powder.

There are several settings and these are described separately for each tab.

l "AM Calculator Conditions Settings" on page 99

l "AM Calculator Materials Properties Settings" on page 118
l "AM Calculator Options Settings" on page 122

Plot Renderer as a Successor

Also as a successor to the AM Calculator, you can right-click the node to add one or more Plot
Renderer nodes to visualize your results. Although the node works the same as with the other
calculators in Thermo-Calc, there are additional features and settings unique to this Module.
Useful information is included throughout the documentation. See "About the AM Plot Types"
on page 52 and "AM Calculator: Plot Renderer Settings" on page 126 as starting points.

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When setting up an AM simulation, the Visualizations window shows both active

configuration changes and other design states as set up on the AM Calculator as
well as the results generated by the Plot Renderer calculations. There are several
related topics to visualize results as well as when you are setting up the
simulations. See "Working with AM Visualizations" on page 143 as a starting point
to learn more.

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AM Calculator Conditions Settings

Once you have added an "AM Calculator" on page 96, the Configuration window has these
settings tabs where there are many available conditions to set on the Conditions, Materials
Properties, and Options tabs and with the specialized Plot Renderer.

This topic describes the available main settings on the Conditions tab.

"AM Calculator Materials Properties Settings" on page 118 and "AM Calculator
Options Settings" on page 122

"Additive Manufacturing Module Theory" on page 19

Global Settings

Gas Pressure
Pressure is used to calculate the heat loss due to evaporation from the top surface of the given
material.

Gas pressure: The pressure of the gas inside the build chamber. The default is 100000 Pascal.
Select Atmospheres or Bar.

When you select a different unit the default value does not change.

Enter a different value in the field.

Temperature Unit
Temperature unit: Select a unit Kelvin, Celsius, or Fahrenheit.

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Base Plate Temperature

If you change the Temperature unit then double check that the value in this field
is also updated or correct as expected if you are keeping the default. This field
does not update automatically when the unit changes.

Base plate temperature: The base plate of the build part is assumed to have a constant
temperature. This temperature is used as a boundary condition for the base of the
computational domain.

The default is 303.15 K.

Ambient Temperature
The Ambient temperature is used to calculate the heat loss from the top surface due to
radiation, convection, and evaporation.

This setting is the temperature of the air in the immediate surrounding environment.

If you change the Temperature unit then double check that the value in this field
is also updated or correct as expected if you are keeping the default. This field
does not update automatically when the unit changes.

Fluid Flow Including Marangoni Effect

Also see the theory section, "Fluid Flow" on page 24 and if also using the keyhole
model, see "About the Keyhole Model" on page 38.

Choose to use Fluid flow including Marangoni effect if you want to calculate and include for
the effect of fluid flow due to gradient of surface tension in the melt pool. The checkbox is
selected by default. This solves the Navier-Stokes equation to include fluid flow inside the melt
pool due to the Marangoni effect.

If you want to use separate properties for the powder layer, click to clear the checkbox to
enable Use separate material properties for powder fields and then continue with the settings
below.

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Use Separate Material Properties for Powder

This option is available when the Fluid flow including Marangoni effect checkbox is NOT
selected.

If you want to use the keyhole model, then do not select this checkbox.

Use separate material properties for powder: Select to use different density and thermal
conductivity for the powder layer; otherwise by default the same properties as for the solid are
used. Then enter a Powder density as a percentage (0-100%) of the solid material. The default
is 80 % of the solid material.

Geometry
For a Steady-state simulation you only need to enter the height. For Transient or Transient
with heat source from Steady-state these are volumetric and you also define the width and
length. For all simulation types you define the coarseness of the mesh.

Height for Steady-state Simulation

Height: Enter the build height (mm). Length and width of the computational domain is
automatically chosen as a function of the heat source parameters and the scanning speed.

Height, Width, and Length for Transient Simulations

l Height: Enter the initial build height (mm). Powder layer(s) with the given layer
thickness will be added on the top. In mm.
l Width: Enter the build width (along y direction). In mm.
l Length: Enter the build length (along x direction). In mm.

Mesh
Mesh: The initial mesh size —Coarse, Medium, Fine, or Custom. It is adaptive and refined as
required.

If Custom is selected, enter the maximum and minimum element sizes:

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l Maximum element size: The initial element size (in μm) in the mesh.
l Minimum element size: The minimum element size (in μm) that the adaptive mesh can
refine to.

Heat Source Models

Choose the heat source model: Gaussian, Double ellipsoidal, or Conical. When available you
can also choose a predefined Users heat source from the list.

"Modeling Heat Source" on page 25 in the theory section. Also see "About Heat
Source Calibration" on page 34 for additional details.

When a Users heat source option is available to choose in the heat source list,
then only the Power of the heat source needs to be entered and the rest of the
parameters, including the absorptivity, are automatically included in the
simulation based on the selected expressions when originally saving the heat
source calibration data.

Gaussian Heat Source Settings

Gaussian is a surface heat source, and it is applied to the top surface of the domain. Then the
heat is diffused based on the diffusivity of the material. This is most commonly used heat
source in the industry.

However, in cases where the melt pool tends to form in a keyhole formation then you need to
include more multiphysics phenomenon to get the correct shape of the meltpool. Then the
volumetric heat sources give you better control of the shape of the meltpool and the
temperature gradient around the heat source.

POWER
For a Single Point calculation enter the Power. The default is 120 W.

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ABSORPTIVITY
The Absorptivity settings are based on the Heat Source and Calculation Type selected.

For a Single Point, Batch, or Grid Calculation Type:

l Select Calculated (the default) to use the alloy's liquid resistivity to calculate the
absorptivity as a function of temperature. To adjust this calculation, enter a different
prefactor than the default (1.0) in the with prefactor field.
l Choose User-defined to enter absorptivity in % where you also can enter this as a
function of temperature (T) i.e. -1.6e-7*T*T+2.5e-3*T+31.

For a Heat Source Calibration Calculation Type the absorptivity is calibrated separately for each
row in the Experiment Data table. Select an option to calibrate absorptivity:

l Calculated (prefactor calibrated) (the default) to use the calculated absorptivity and
calibrate the prefactor.
l Constant (calibrated) to calibrate the absolute value of absorptivity.

"About the Absorptivity Model" on page 42 and the section "Heat Source
Calibration" on page 49 for more.

WAVE LENGTH
This field is available:

l For a Single Point, Batch or Grid Calculation Type and when Calculated is selected as
the Absorptivity.
l For a Heat Source Calibration Calculation Type and when Calculated (prefactor
calibrated is selected as the Absorptivity.

"About the Absorptivity Model" on page 42 and the section "Heat Source
Calibration" on page 49 for more.

Enter the Wave length in nm.

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BEAM RADIUS
The beam radius is where the power reduces to 1 over a square as compared to its value at the
axial point. This is only applied on the top surface and then heat is diffused into the material
based on the diffusivity of the material.

For a Single Point, Batch, or Grid Calculation Type enter the Beam radius size for the Gaussian
heat source model. The default is 110 μm. Hover over the field in the GUI to view the example
of it as below.

For a Heat Source Calibration Calculation Type and when Calculated (prefactor calibrated is
selected as the Absorptivity.

l Select Calibrated to calibrate the beam radius and the absorptivity or User-defined to
enter a specific beam radius in the field (unit = μm) and only calibrate the absorptivity.
l Then choose what to Calibrate for. Select Width and depth of the melt pool, or Depth
to calibrate using only the depth of the melt pool.

"About the Absorptivity Model" on page 42 and the section "Heat Source
Calibration" on page 49 for more.

KEYHOLE MODEL AND RAYLEIGH LENGTH

"About the Keyhole Model" on page 38

The Use keyhole model checkbox is available for a Gaussian Heat Source and when the Use
separate material properties for powder checkbox is NOT selected.

Click to select the Use keyhole model checkbox and enter a Rayleigh length of the laser beam
in the field (unit = mm). The default is 2.5 mm.

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Double Ellipsoidal Heat Source Settings

The Double ellipsoidal heat source, also referred to as Goldak, is a volume model where the
heat intensity is in the front and the back of the heat source is defined with the help of two
different ellipsoids. The axis of the each ellipsoid is needed.

POWER
For a Single Point calculation enter the Power. The default is 120 W.

ABSORPTIVITY
The Absorptivity settings are based on the Heat Source and Calculation Type selected.

For this heat source and with a Single Point, Batch, or Grid Calculation Type enter the
absorptivity % for the selected heat source model. The default is 60 %. For Heat Source
Calibration calculations there are no further settings.

AR, AF, B, AND C

For Double ellipsoidal, also enter the following. For each field you can hover over it in the
GUI to see these images that show you the location.

l ar (default is 70 μm).

l af (default is 70 μm).

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l b (default is 85 μm).

l c (default is 200 μm).

Conical Heat Source Settings

The Conical option is also a volumetric heat source where heat intensity is described as
Gaussian distribution at the top surface, defined by a top radius, that varies linearly in the
depth of the workpiece until it reaches a bottom radius within the prescribed depth.

POWER
For a Single Point calculation enter the Power. The default is 120 W.

ABSORPTIVITY
The Absorptivity settings are based on the Heat Source and Calculation Type selected.

For this heat source and with a Single Point, Batch, or Grid Calculation Type enter the
absorptivity % for the selected heat source model. The default is 60 %. For Heat Source
Calibration calculations there are no further settings.

RE, RI, H

For Conical, also enter the following. For each field you can hover over it in the GUI to see these
images that show you the location.

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l re (default is 100 μm).

l ri (default is 60 μm).
l H (default is 100 μm).

Scanning Strategy
The scanning strategy determines the build geometry for one or multiple layers. Green layer on
the top of the geometry is the powder and the grey part is the solid substrate.

For Steady-state simulations, you only need to define the Scanning speed and Layer thickness.

Scanning Speed
Enter a Scanning speed, which is the velocity of the moving heat source. The default is 500
mm/s.

Layer Thickness
Enter a Layer thickness, which is the thickness of the powder layer. The default is 40 mm.
When you change the layer thickness, the meshing size changes too.

Pattern
Select the scanning Pattern—Single track, Bidirectional, or Unidirectional.

l Select Unidirectional to use same scanning direction of the heat source for all tracks.
l Select Bidirectional to flip scanning direction of the heat source between alternate
tracks.

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SINGLE TRACK
l Margin: Offset of the laser scanning path from the sides of the computational domain.
In case of Single track, offset is placed from the sides transverse to the scanning
direction, whereas the scanning path is always in the middle of the domain going along
the length of the workpiece.
l Number of layers: Enter the number of layers or scroll using the arrows.
l Powder fill time: Powder recoating time (unit = s) between two consecutive layers. This
does not include lift time. This field is available when more than 1 is entered in the
Number of layers field.
l Cooling time: Enter a cooling time (unit = s) This is the time for which the material is left
to cool down after the scanning is completed. During cooling time, the heat source is
completely turned off.

BIDIRECTIONAL AND UNIDIRECTIONAL

l Margin: Offset of the laser scanning path from the sides of the computational domain.
l Hatch spacing: Separation (unit = mm) between two consecutive tracks.
l Lift time: Time (unit = s) between two tracks where the heat source is inactive.
l Number of layers: Enter the number of layers or scroll using the arrows.
l Powder fill time: Powder recoating time (unit = s) between two consecutive layers. This
does not include lift time.
l Rotation between layers: Rotation (unit = degrees) of the scanning direction between
two consecutive layers. The scanning pattern of the first layer is always aligned to the X
axis then the second layer will be rotated (if you choose this setting) with the specified
angle then the next layer will be rotated at the same angle as compared to the previous
layer and so on. This way you can change the rotation of the layers.
l Cooling time: Enter a cooling time (unit = s) This is the time for which the material is left
to cool down after the scanning is completed. During cooling time, the heat source is
completely turned off.

Top Boundary Conditions

"Numerical Boundary Conditions" on page 28 in the theory section.

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Radiation Emissivity
Enter a Radiation emissivity to include the effect of radiation from the top surface to the
surrounding gas. Enter a value between 0 and 1. If you want to neglect the heat loss, then enter
0 to disable radiation.

Convective Heat Transfer Coefficient

Enter a Convective heat transfer coefficient for the top surface to the surrounding gas. If you
want to ignore this then enter 0 to disable convective heat transfer. The default is 20 W/m2.

Evaporation
Select the Evaporation checkbox to include the effect of evaporation heat loss due to heating
of the powder layer or the metallic surface close to the evaporation temperature.

The Evaporation heat loss is calculated based on the settings on the Materials
Properties tab, i.e. evaporation enthalpy per mole, the driving force for
evaporation per mole quantity and the molar mass of gas. These are also
calculated by the databases.

Calculation Type (Steady-state)

Single Point
By default for Steady-state calculations, Single point is selected, which uses the standard
Gaussian Heat Source. Settings are entered as described in"Heat Source Models" on page 102.

Heat Source Calibration

For some background, see "About Heat Source Calibration" on page 34. Also see
"Visualizing Heat Source Calibrations" on page 157 for various options related to
visualizing the calibration settings.

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Select Heat Source Calibration to calibrate a heat source based on the imported or entered
experimental data instead of performing a single point calculation. All types of heat sources can
be used. See below for additional information to enter the Experiment Data.

Experiment Data (Heat Source Calibration)

It is important to prepare the experiment data file correctly so the simulation

performs smoothly. See "AM Calculator Experiment File Requirements" on
page 113.

This section is available when Heat Source Calibration is selected as the Calculation Type.

In the Experiment file field, either enter a file path or click the file button ( ) to navigate to a
data file such as an Excel spreadsheet (with *.xls or *.xlsx extensions) or a *.csv file. You can
also use other programs (e.g. Google Sheets) to enter data and export to a CSV format that can
be read by the software.

Click Open to import the data. In the Experiment file field you can see the file path to the
selected file. The next time you click the file button ( ) the program remembers the last
location from where the file is opened.

Choose the delimiter—Comma (,), Colon (:), Equals sign (=), Semicolon (;), or Tab—that
matches the delimiter in the experiment file and click the Reload ( ) button.

Batch
Select Batch to include power and scan speed data, which is read from a file such as a
spreadsheet and entered or imported to the Batch Experiment Data table. You can optionally
include experimental melt pool width and depth (if there is data), and compare this to the
calculated results using a Parity plot on the Plot Renderer.

"Visualizing Batch Calculations in the AM Module" on page 167

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Batch Experiment Data

It is important to prepare the experiment data file correctly so the simulation

performs smoothly. See "AM Calculator Experiment File Requirements" on
page 113.

This section is available when Batch is selected as the Calculation Type.

In the Experiment file field, either enter a file path or click the file button ( ) to navigate to a
data file such as an Excel spreadsheet (with *.xls or *.xlsx extensions) or a *.csv file. You can
also use other programs (e.g. Google Sheets) to enter data and export to a CSV format that can
be read by the software.

Click Open to import the data. In the Experiment file field you can see the file path to the
selected file. The next time you click the file button ( ) the program remembers the last
location from where the file is opened.

Choose the delimiter—Comma (,), Colon (:), Equals sign (=), Semicolon (;), or Tab—that
matches the delimiter in the experiment file and click the Reload ( ) button.

Grid
Select Grid to evaluate two axis variables of power and scanning speeds in the specified range
and number of steps. Then continue with the Grid Definitions.

Grid Definitions
This section is available when Grid is selected as the Calculation Type.

For the Grid calculation type, define the two axes variables using the fields and menus:
Quantity, Min, Max, and Number of steps. The number of steps along with the minimum and
maximum values for the axes define a grid. For each grid point the selected models are
evaluated.
Enter a Min, Max, and Number of steps for:
l Power (W) for the selected Heat Source model.
l Scanning speed (mm/s) for the velocity of the moving heat source.

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Probe Positions (Transient Simulations Only)

It is important to add the probes locations before the simulation is run or the
action is not recorded.

You can add probes in the domain that record temperature and all other temperature related
properties when the simulation is being run.

Click the Add and Remove buttons to add each probe and then you can either manually
enter the probe coordinates (enter the x, y, and z coordinates in the fields) or click Pick
coordinate to choose each of the points specifically on the Geometry tab in the Visualizations
window.

Some advance options can be selected from a popup menu;

l Double-click on the geometry to pick a coordinate

l Hold Ctrl key to pick a probe in the middle of a layer
l Hold Shift key to map the picking position with a scanning path, i.e. you can pick a probe
that snaps to a nearest scanning path
l Hold Shift+Alt keys to map the picking position to the middle of two scanning paths, i.e.
pick a probe in the middle of the two nearest scanning paths.

"AM Calculator: Working with Probe Data" on page 124

Using Probe Data in Diffusion and Precipitation Calculations

When you also have licenses either for the Diffusion Module (DICTRA) and/or the
Precipitation Module (TC-PRISMA), for transient simulations you can additionally
include probe data from the AM Calculator in the set up of the thermal profile for
diffusion and precipitation calculations, respectively.

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AM Calculator Experiment File Requirements

The following describes the requirements for importing experimental file data to be used with
an AM Calculator either for a Heat Source or Batch Calculation Type and when setting it up on
the Configuration window.

"AM Calculator Conditions Settings" on page 99

It is important that the experiment data file contents are correctly entered in
order for the calculation to perform smoothly.

Heat Source Calibration Calculations

When the Heat Source Calibration Calculation Type is selected in the Steady-state mode, there
is an option to import a file with experimental data points that are used to calibrate the heat
source.

Data can also be entered directly into the table on the AM Calculator Configuration window.
However, if an Experiment file is imported it needs to be set up in a certain way so that the
software can read the data.

These examples use experiment data, key holing, and heat source calibration:
"AM_06a: Calibrating a Heat Source for a 316L Steel" on page 208 and "AM_06b:
Using the Calibrated Heat Source for a 316L Steel" on page 215.

Figure 35: From example AM_06a, this shows the data imported from an experiment file into the
table. The "Use" column allows you to choose the points to include or exclude for the simulation.
Here row (experiment) #1 is selected to show the data point. Further down in this list, rows 9, 14, 20,
and 21 are also selected to be included.

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Batch Calculations
When the Batch Calculation Type is selected in the Steady-state mode, there is an option to
import a file with experimental data points.

Data can also be entered directly into the table on the AM Calculator Configuration window.
However, if an Experiment file is imported it needs to be set up in a certain way so that the
software can read the data.

These examples use Batch calculations "AM_07: Batch Calculations for an IN718
Alloy" on page 220, "AM_08b: Batch Calculations for a Ti64 Alloy" on page 234, and
"AM_09b: Batch Calculations for an SS316L Alloy" on page 246.

Figure 36: From example AM_08b, this shows the data imported from an experiment file into the
table. Here the "Use" checkbox for Experiment 1 is about to be deselected to exclude the data point
after previewing it on the Visualizations window.

Experiment File Requirements

Only the columns described here are read / used in the calculation. It is important
to enter the information exactly as described. All header text (the first line in the
file) must also be written in English, i.e. no translations into other languages will be
read correctly by the experiment file.

The experiment file is set up as follows.

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l The first row in the file is the header.

l Include only four columns in the file and these must be in the following order and must
use the indicated units.

Default Global units (i.e. set via the Tools → Options menu) are not
applicable. The data must be in the indicated units.

l Power (unit = W)
l Scanning Speed (unit = mm/s)
l Width of the melt pool (unit = μm)
l Depth of the melt pool (unit = μm)

l All of the values entered or imported to the table must be positive and greater than
zero.

If you select Depth from the Calibrate for list, then the experimental values for
only the melt pool depth is needed.

Do not include the following in the file:

l # this is the experiment number that is automatically associated to each imported or

entered set of data. It is used to identify the applicable rows by a unique number so that
you can easily identify these points (i.e. points are identified by labels on the plots), or
when choosing to include or exclude the experiment point from the simulation or later
from a plot.
l P/v (J/mm). This is the energy density and is defined as the ratio of power and scanning
speed. This is not included in any data file. This is automatically calculated based on the
Power and Speed entered or included in the file (i.e it is defined as the ratio of power
and scanning speed).
l Use. This column is not part of the text file, it is available once the data is imported or
entered in the table. Then you can choose to include or exclude specific data points as
you examine this output in the Visualizations window.

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Figure 37: An example of the original experiment data file, with the four headings in the correct order
and these do not need the units included here. When the file is imported, there is a standard header
that is kept, plus the additional columns (i.e. #, P/V, and Use experiment), which are automatically
available and updated as needed.

Once a set of data is imported to the table (or entered manually), expand the
Configuration window to reveal the scroll bars. Then you can scroll up or down,
left or right, within the table to select checkboxes for the relevant data points you
want to include or exclude. This is applicable to the tables found on the
AM Calculator as well as those on the Plot Renderer for the data.

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You can edit the table after importing data, or manually enter information. To add a row, scroll
to the bottom of the table and press <Enter>.

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AM Calculator Materials Properties Settings

Once you have added an "AM Calculator" on page 96, the Configuration window has these
settings tabs where there are many available conditions to set on the Conditions, Materials
Properties, and Options tabs and with the specialized Plot Renderer.

This section describes the settings for the Materials Properties tab.

"AM Calculator Conditions Settings" on page 99 and "AM Calculator Options

Settings" on page 122

Use Data From

If there is a Scheil Calculator predecessor to the AM Calculator, you can import the material
properties from a Library or Scheil Calculator. When the AM template is added, the default is
to import material properties from Scheil calculations.

When the with Material Library template is used, then the AM Calculator > Materials
properties are available to import from a Library only.

In this case you also can Save, Save as, Export to Folder, Delete, and Rename the material data
both from Scheil and from material library. With Save or Save as, original data is saved i.e.
without any smoothing. With Export to Folder, the data is saved with Smoothing. the material
data both from Scheil and from material library.

Export to folder is intended for using the data in an external simulation software,
where using smoothed data is expected to result in fewer numerical issues. Save
and Save as are intended for when the data is to be used in the AM Module. The
data will be smoothed according to the smoothing setting before use in the FEM
simulation.

Account for Interface Scattering

When Use data from Scheil Calculator is selected, you can also select the Account for interface
scattering checkbox.

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The electrical resistivity due to phase interface scattering is evaluated as the scattering constant
times sum of the interaction between the volume fraction of all the phases. The default value
for the Phase interface scattering constant is found to be 4.0e-8 Ωm for aluminum alloys
produced with conventional methods. A higher value could be required for the AM process
where the rapid solidification results in a very fine microstructure with a large amount of phase
interfaces.The contribution to thermal conductivity is assumed to be related to that to electrical
resistivity, following the Wiedemann-Franz law.

Either keep the default Phase interface scattering constant, which is a constant for evaluating
thermal conductivity due to scattering at phase interfaces, or enter another value.

Import
You can import material properties contained in a folder.

Click the Import from folder and add to libraries button and navigate to the folder location
where the material properties are located.

Smoothing
From the Smoothing list, select Same for all quantities (where Little smoothing is the default)
or Per quantity. Then either define the smoothing once (Same for all quantities) or individually
for each quantity. Options are No smoothing, Little smoothing, Medium smoothing, Large
smoothing, or Linear.

Available quantities to define smoothing:

l Heat
l Apparent heat capacity per kg
l Density
l Thermal conductivity
l Dynamic viscosity
l Surface tension
l Molar volume
l Molar mass of gas
l Driving force for evaporation per mole
l Evaporation enthalpy per mole

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l Electric resistivity
l Absorptivity
l Absorptivity vs angle

Plot
From the Plot list, choose what quantity to plot:

l Heat
l Apparent heat capacity per kg
l Density
l Thermal conductivity
l Dynamic viscosity
l Surface tension
l Molar volume
l Molar mass of gas
l Driving force for evaporation per mole
l Evaporation enthalpy per mole
l Electric resistivity

Plot: Absorptivity Options

The following absorptivity options depend on what is entered on the Conditions tab. See "Heat
Source Models" on page 102 section for the settings.

If a Gaussian Heat Source is selected, plus one of the following Calculation Type combinations:

l Heat Source Calibration, when User-defined is selected;

l Single Point, Batch, or Grid when Calculated or User-defined is selected

Then the options are:

l Absorptivity
l Absorptivity vs angle

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For a Gaussian Heat Source, Heat Source Calibration Calculation Type, and when Calculated is
selected, then the options are:

l Absorptivity (wavelength is <value from Heat Source settings > with prefactor 1.0).
l Absorptivity vs angle (wavelength is <value from Heat Source settings > with prefactor
1.0).

The wavelength <value from Heat Source settings > for the Absorptivity and
Absorptivity vs angle is the same as what is entered on the Conditions tab. For
example, if 1064 nm is entered, it displays on the Material Properties tab as
Absorptivity (wavelength is 1064 nm with prefactor 1.0).

Show Transition Temperatures

You can also choose to Show transition temperatures:

l Solidus, Liquidus, Evaporation

l Solidus
l Liquidus
l Evaporation
l Custom: If selected, also enter a value in the field. The default unit is the same as what
is selected globally on the Tools → Options → Graphical Mode → Default Units tab.
l None

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AM Calculator Options Settings

Once you have added an "AM Calculator" on page 96, the Configuration window has these
settings tabs where there are many available conditions to set on the Conditions, Materials
Properties, and Options tabs, as well as with the specialized Plot Renderer.

This section describes the settings for the Options tab.

"AM Calculator Conditions Settings" on page 99 and "AM Calculator Materials

Properties Settings" on page 118

Streamline Upwind Petrov-Galerkin (SUPG)

Select the Streamline upwind Petrov-Galerkin (SUPG) checkbox to enable SUPG stabilization
scheme for the energy and Navier-Stokes equations.

Damping Factor for the Damped Newton Iteration

Select the Damping factor for the damped Newton iteration checkbox to add a damping factor
for the damped Newton iteration and enter a value between 0 and 1. The default is 0.7.

It may improve stability but it slows down convergence of the simulation.

Smagorinsky Constant
Enter a Smagorinsky constant in the field. This is the value of the constant to use in the fluid
flow model. The default is 0.18.

For more information see "Fluid Flow" on page 24 in the theory section.

Save Interval for Transient Simulation

Select the interval to save results from transient simulations. If the number of files saved are
specified, choose if the step size should increase linearly or exponentially.

From the Save interval for transient simulation list choose Automatic, Every Nth time step, or
Time in seconds. Then for each also enter as indicated:

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l Automatic
l Max number of files: The default is100Linear.
l Then choose Linear or Exponentially increasing. Enter another number of files in
the field as needed.
l Every Nth time step: The default is 1 or enter or use the up and down arrows to choose
another number.
l Time in seconds: The default is 0.01 or enter another number in the field.

Number of Cores
Select or enter the Number of cores available for the simulations. The default value is the total
number of physical cores available in the system.

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AM Calculator: Working with Probe Data

When you also have licenses either for the Diffusion Module (DICTRA) and/or the
Precipitation Module (TC-PRISMA), for transient simulations you can additionally
include probe data from the AM Calculator in the set up of the thermal profile for
diffusion and precipitation calculations, respectively.

Workflow to Include Probe Data from Diffusion or Precipitation

Simulations

You can use installed examples to visualize how the probes are set up for a
Diffusion Calculator (see "AM_05: Using AM Calculator Probe Data with the
Diffusion Module (DICTRA)" on page 199) and for the Precipitation Calculator (see
"AM_12: Using AM Calculator Probe Data with the Precipitation Module (TC-
PRISMA)" on page 267).

1. Set up the probes on the AM Calculator. Probes are available for transient calculations
only. See "AM Calculator Conditions Settings" on page 99. This must be done before you
can use the probe data in the calculations connected to a Diffusion Calculator or
Precipitation Calculator.
2. If not already done, add a Diffusion Calculator or Precipitation Calculator as a successor
to the AM Calculator.
3. Set up your Diffusion or Precipitation Calculator as needed. Follow the basic settings
details for the Thermal Profile section.
4. Once the standard settings are completed, and as long as probes are set up, on the
Configuration window, the section Probes is available. Until the AM Calculator is run,
the list is empty. After the AM simulation is completed, the data is imported into the
table you can choose how to Condense time-temperature data. These settings are
described below.

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Probes
The list of Probes is available as long as Probe Positions are set up on the AM Calculator and the
AM Calculator is performed to generate the data, which is fed into the applicable Calculator
(Diffusion or Precipitation). Select the probe you want to plot, for example as a Segregation
Profile as shown in example AM_05.

Condense Time-Temperature Data

Use the Condense time-temperature data setting to adjust how many time-temperature points
are included in the Thermal Profile displayed in the Visualizations window. For example, for a
complex calculation you can choose a Medium or Large setting to save fewer time steps at this
stage of design, which in turn can ensure that a complex diffusion or precipitation calculation is
able to finish.

Choose None, Small, Medium, Large, or Custom.

l None (the default) includes all points, i.e. no points are condensed together and all
point data are included in the Thermal Profile preview. When using the Custom setting,
this is equivalent to entering a value greater than 1 in the field.
l Small condenses a minimum number of points, which means that a large number of
time steps are used in the calculation and thus lots of time steps are shown.
l Medium is when that a medium number of points are condensed together, which
means that a medium number of time steps are used in the calculation.
l Large is when a large number of points are condensed together, which means that there
are few, or a small number of time steps used in the calculation.
l When Custom is selected you can fine-tune the number of points to include. Enter a
value between 0 and 1, where 0 maximizes condensing the points (the same as choosing
Large), 1 minimizes condensing the points (the same as choosing Small), and 0.5 is a
medium number of points being condensed (the same as choosing Medium). If you
enter a value greater than 1, it is the same as choosing None, i.e. all data points are
included. The larger the value, the more points are condenses, until only two points are
shown.

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AM Calculator: Plot Renderer Settings

Once you have added an "AM Calculator" on page 96, you can add the specialized Plot
Renderer. The following is information about the settings available for a Plot Renderer when it
is a successor to an AM Calculator.

The settings listed below are made available based on a variety of combinations,
e.g. the type of simulation (Steady-state, Transient, or Transient with heat source
from Steady-state), whether fluid flow or the keyhole checkboxes are selected,
whether probes are used, and so on. There are also Calculation Types (Single
Point, Heat Source Calibration, Batch, and Grid), that impact the settings shown,
and these options are further included on separate tabs (i.e. Batch, Grid, Heat
Source Calibration, 3D Plot, Plot Over Line, Thermal Gradient vs Solidification
Rate, etc.), which are further fine-tuned based on the plot types or display types
selected on the Plot Renderer.

The software guides you by only providing the relevant settings to define. Due to
the number of settings available, these are not in order as to what you see on the
Configuration window. Where relevant or logical, settings are grouped together
and some detail of when or how you would access the setting is included. Scroll or
search for the setting or field name as there are many simulation, calculation,
display options, and plot type combinations that are available on the relevant tab
on the Plot Renderer Configuration window.

"About the AM Plot Types" on page 52 and "Working with AM Visualizations" on

page 143

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General

Add a Quantity and Remove a Quantity or Function Buttons

Use the Add quantity or Add function and Remove quantity or Remove function buttons
to add additional setting groups that include all of the available settings. Click the checkbox
next to these buttons to enable or disable any particular settings group.

Show Table or Hide Table

These buttons are available on the Batch or Grid tabs after running either a Batch or Grid
calculation, respectively.

Use the Show Table or Hide Table buttons to view the simulation data and using the table you
can fine tune the plot. Also see "Visualizing Batch Calculations in the AM Module" on page 167
for more information about the columns in the table.

Export Result Files

This option is available on the Plot Renderer Configuration window for the following tabs (and
the associated plots that are available for each): 3D Plot, Grid, Batch, or Heat Source
Calibration. The button is available after the simulation is run.

Click Export Result Files to export the files and visualize the results in external software. The
result file(s) in Exodus format (*.e) and the json file info .json are copied to the folder
selected. The json info file contains the settings and results from each data point. You can open
the json info file in a text reader (i.e. Notepad) to review it before using the Exodus file in the
external software.

When exporting from the Grid, Batch, and Heat Source Calibration tabs, the results are saved
in separate subfolders, each containing the .e and .json files. The Exodus file format is used
for finite element analysis.

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The folders containing the sets of results files are exported in random order. To
match the folder to the original datapoint, open the json file in a text editor. In this
file there is a number field that matches the row (experiment) number in the table
found on the Plot Renderer Configuration window for the applicable tab (click
Show Table). You can use this to match the folder contents back to the datapoint
as needed.

In the Export Result Files window, in the Folder Name field, navigate to the location or enter a
file path to where you want to save the files. Create a new folder as needed. Click Save. The
individual exported files in each folder are named info.json and result.e and can be used in
external software. When there are multiple subfolders (i.e. for Grid, Batch and Heat Source
Calibration) the number of folders exported is the same as the number of rows of data selected
to be used. If the Use checkbox is not selected, the result folder (and files) for that data point is
not exported. Click the Show Table button to review the rows of data and choose to include or
exclude data points from the Use column.

Filter by Material Types

This option is available when Use separate material properties for powder is selected on the
AM Calculator.

Select Filter by material types to visualize specific material types from the list.

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Layer Thickness
Enter a Layer thickness in μm. The printed layer thickness is equal to the powder thickness first
after multiple layers have been printed. For a single track, or a few layers, the printed layer is
often much less than the powder thickness.

Table View
Click the Table View button to toggle it ON and OFF between a plot and a table.

"AM Plots: Table View Options" on page 86

Transient-related Simulations

Time
Once a Transient simulation plot is calculated, the Time step results are listed in a drop-down
list. You can choose to look at a specific time point, or click the buttons to the right of the drop-
down to navigate the time steps. Hover over the buttons to see the tooltips or see Time Step
Navigation Buttons.

Time Step Navigation Buttons

Button Action

Move to the first time step

Move to the previous time step

Play from the current time step to the last one

Move to the next time step

Move to the last time step

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Rescale Plotting Data Range Over All Time Steps

This is available for Transient simulations.

Select the Rescale plotting data range over all time steps checkbox to scale min and max
values of legends and plots over all time steps.

Axis Variables and Display Options

Axis Variable
Set the state variable you want plotted along the X-axis and the Y-axis. The available variables
in the list are based on how your system is set up and options vary.
Choose an Axis variable and an applicable unit (indicated in the brackets) from each of the
drop-down lists.
l Temperature (Kelvin, Celsius, or Fahrenheit)
l Surface tension (Joule per m2 or Millijoule per m2)
l Thermal conductivity (unitless)
l Available when the Fluid flow including Marangoni effect checkbox is selected:
l Dynamic viscosity (Pascal-second, milliPascal-second, Poise, or centiPoise)
l Flow velocity field (m/s, mm/s, μm/s, or nm/s)
l Solidification rate (m/s, mm/s, μm/s, or nm/s)
l Thermal gradient (Kelvin per m)

Display
Based on the Axis variable selected, choose the way to Display it.

l For Temperature, Surface tension, Thermal conductivity, or Dynamic viscosity, choose

Surface colormap, Contour, or Iso-surface. For Surface colormap and Contour, you can
also click to select the Slice checkbox.
l For Flow velocity field, choose the object shape to display velocity vectors: Arrow, 2D
glyph, Cone, or Line.

The settings are further described below.

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Tubes
Available for display type Contour.

The Tubes checkbox is selected by default and this displays contour plots as 3D tubes. Click to
clear the checkbox and instead display the contours as 2D lines.

Values
Available for display types Contour and Iso-surface. For Iso-surface you can also specify the
opacity of surface plot in %.

Choose the Values: Automatic (the default), Custom values, Custom range, Solidus, Liquidus,
or Solidus and Liquidus.

l For Automatic, enter the Number of steps.

l For Custom values enter a number in the field.
l For Custom range enter the Min and Max number of lines, then Number of steps.
l Select Solidus to plot contour/iso-surface at solidus temperature.
l Select Liquidus and Solidus and Liquidus to plot contour/iso-surface at both solidus and
liquidus temperatures.

Some settings are further described in separate sections below.

Number of Steps
Available for Contour and Iso-surface Display types, and when Automatic or Custom range
Values are selected.

Enter or choose the Number of steps.

In some cases for a Custom range selection, you need to expand the Configuration
window to the right to access this setting.

Opacity
Available for Surface colormap and Iso-surface (available for all Values options).

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Enter a value between 0-100 as the percent (%) of Opacity.

Slice
This is available for display types Surface colormap or Contour.

Select the Slice checkbox to visualize the Axis variable on a cross-sectional plane. You can
choose the normal of the cross-sectional plane and the distance of the plane from the center of
the heat source.

Then choose X-direction, Y-direction, or Z-direction, for the Distance from center of heat
source and for the beam radius.

Coloring and Range

Choose Rainbow, Cool to warm, Purple Orange, Green Purple, Blue Brown, Green Red, Solid
color.

For all but Solid color, choose a Range—Automatic or Custom. Then for Custom enter a Min
and Max number.

Legend
Click the Legend checkbox to include or click to clear to exclude a legend.

Scale Glyph by Velocity Magnitude

This setting is for a Flow velocity field Axis variable. It is available for all Display types.

Select the Scale glyph by velocity magnitude checkbox to scale the velocity display object
(glyph) according to the velocity magnitude. Otherwise the glyphs are scaled uniformly.

Glyph Scale Factor

This setting is for a Flow velocity field Axis variable.

Enter a numerical value for the Glyph scale factor.

Show Glyph in Every

This setting is for a Flow velocity field Axis variable.

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For the Show glyph in every setting, enter or select the number of grid points where velocity
glyphs are displayed.

2D Plot Types
You can plot the material properties (2D) so you can specify the quantities and add as many
lines as you want directly to the plot in the Visualizations window. What you see is Distance vs
Temperature, first is first layer, second is second layer, and so forth on the 2D plots. You can
select the different times from the list at the top at different points and see it on the plot, for
example it might be at 26 minutes where you can see it is as the peak of the melt pool max
temperature.

Show Transition Temperatures

Available with 2D plot types, such as Probe or Plot Over Line. It is a dynamic list that updates
the plot in the Visualizations window after the 2D plot is performed.

Select the different options to better visualize the transition temperature results. From the
Show transition temperatures list, choose Solidus, Liquidus, Evaporation, Solidus, Liquidus,
Evaporation, Custom, or None. For Custom, also enter a specific temperature value in the field.
Then observe the changes on the plot, where the legend updates and the lines for each option
are added or removed based on the selection.

Grid Calculations (Grid, 3D Plot, and Plot Over Line Tabs)

These settings are specific to Grid calculations and are on the Grid tab. Also see plot related
settings: "Melt Pool vs Energy Density Plot Type (Batch and Grid Tabs)" on page 136 and
"Printability Map Plot Type (Batch and Grid Tabs)" on page 136.

Grid Data
This is available on the 3D Plot and Plot Over Line tabs after running a Grid Calculation Type.

The data in the Grid data list shows all the power and scan speed combinations and it is sorted
in order of energy density.

Grid Calculation Table

The following is on the Grid tab after a Grid calculation.

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Use the Show Table or Hide Table buttons to view the simulation data and using the table you
can fine tune the plot. The table includes these columns:

l The Power (W) and Speed (mm/s) columns are the from what was entered under Grid
Definitions, on the AM Calculator i.e. the Min, Max, and Number of steps.
l The P/v (J/mm) column is the automatically calculated energy density, defined as the
ratio of power and scanning speed.
l The calculated width and depth points, with the prefix Sim., i.e. Sim.width (μm) and
Sim.depth (μm), to indicate it is the result of the simulation.
l The Use column has a checkbox available to include or exclude these points on the
plots. When a Use checkbox is not selected, the results are also not included if you
choose to export the result files. See "Export Result Files" on page 127.

Batch Calculations
These settings are specific to Batch calculations. Also see plot related settings: "Parity Plot
(Batch Tab)" on the next page, "Melt Pool vs Energy Density Plot Type (Batch and Grid Tabs)" on
page 136, and "Printability Map Plot Type (Batch and Grid Tabs)" on page 136.

After the Batch Experiment Data set up is completed on the AM Calculator and
the simulation run, then on the Plot Renderer you can start to work with the data
you want to plot. Also see Including or Excluding Data Points to understand the
interaction between these two tables.

Batch Experiments
Plot Renderer → 3D Plot, Plot Over Line, and Thermal Gradient vs Solidification Rate tabs
after running a Batch Calculation Type.

The data in the Batch Experiments list shows all the power and scan speed combinations and it
is sorted in order of energy density.

Batch Calculation Table

Plot Renderer → Batch tab.

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You may have already included or excluded data points earlier when previewing the data. Use
the Show Table or Hide Table buttons to view the included or excluded data and continue to
fine tune the plot.

On the Batch tab the table includes these columns:

l The original experiment data for Power (W) and Speed (mm/s), plus the P/v (J/mm).
l The original experiment data for Width and Depth, now with a prefix Exp. e.g.
Exp.width (μm), to indicate this is the experimental data.
l The calculated Width and Depth points, with the prefix Sim., e.g. Sim.width (μm), to
indicate it is the result of the simulation.

Only the experiment data points selected for inclusion when setting up the
AM Calculator have data in these two Sim. columns.

l The Use column has a checkbox available to continue to include or exclude those points
on the plots. When a checkbox is not selected, the results are also not included if you
choose to export the result files.

Only points that were originally included in the simulation can be selected
or deselected from the Use column. If an experiment data point needs to
be added, return to the AM Calculator, choose the point (s) to include
there, and run the simulation again. Once the simulation is complete, the
points are included in this table.

Parity Plot (Batch Tab)

The following settings are available on the Batch tab when a Parity plot is selected as the plot
type.

Plot Width and Plot Depth

Click the Plot width and Plot depth checkboxes to toggle between displaying these points on
the associated tab on the Visualizations window for the plot.

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Show Limits
Select the Show limits checkbox to include additional visual cues on the plot. Choose RMS,
Absolute, or Relative in %. For Absolute or Relative in % enter a number in the field. The plot
dynamically updates as you toggle between these options.

Melt Pool vs Energy Density Plot Type (Batch and Grid Tabs)
The following settings are available on the Batch or Grid tab when a Melt pool vs energy
density is selected as the plot type.

Plot Width and Plot Depth

Click the Plot width and Plot depth checkboxes to toggle between displaying these points on
the associated tab on the Visualizations window for the plot.

Printability Map Plot Type (Batch and Grid Tabs)

The following settings are available on the Batch or Grid tab when a Printability map is selected
as the plot type and after running a Batch or Grid calculation, respectively.

Show Result Points

Select or deselect the Show result points checkbox to toggle these on and off on the
Visualizations window. The plot updates dynamically.

Hatch Distance
Enter a Hatch distance in μm.

Function
Printability maps with varied power and scanning speeds can be simulated showing regions
where the defects keyholing porosity, lack of fusion, and balling occur. The defect regions are
defined by functions of the keyhole dimension (Wk, Dk), melt pool dimensions (W, D, L), hatch
distance (h), and powder thickness (t). Use the plus and minus buttons to add and remove
sections to define each Function.

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Click to toggle the Function checkbox to show and hide the selected functions as needed on the
Visualizations window.

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From the list select one of the following for each section added then for each choose All, <=
(less than or equal to), or >= (greater than or equal to) and enter a number in the field
associated field. On the Visualizations window, there are numbered labels to indicate
experiments with defects, in red , or without defects, in green.

l Keyholing: W/D
l Keyholing: Wk/Dk
l Balling: W/L
l Balling: D/L
l Lack of fusion: D/t
l Lack of fusion hatch: Dh/t
l Meltpool width: W
l Meltpool depth: D
l Meltpool length: L
l Keyhole width: Wk
l Keyhole depth: Dk
l Meltpool depth at hatch: Dh
l Custom. Then enter a Name in the field.

Areaplot
Click the Areaplot checkbox to toggle between including the colored sections on the plot.

Isolines
Click the Isolines checkbox to include or exclude isolines.

Choose Automatic, Custom, or Custom values.

l For Automatic, enter the Number of steps.

l For Custom, enter the distance between lines i.e. 1.0 1.25 1.5.

l For Custom values, enter a Min, Max, and Number of steps.

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Heat Source Calibration Calculations

See "AM Calculator Conditions Settings" on page 99 and "Visualizing Heat Source
Calibrations" on page 157 for more detailed information.

Heat Source Calibration Experiments

Plot Renderer → 3D Plot and Plot Over Line tabs after running a Heat Source Calibration
Calculation Type.

The data in the Heat Source Calibration Experiments list shows all the power and scan speed
combinations and it is sorted in order of energy density.

Heat Source Calibration Table

Plot Renderer → Heat Source Calibration tab.

Click the Show Table or Hide Table buttons to view or hide the experimental and simulation
data. To fine-tune the choice of data points, click the checkbox for the Use column for each row
(experiment #) to observe the dynamic changes on the Heat Source Calibration Parameters
and/or Melt Pool Dimensions tabs on the Visualizations window.

Experiment data and other settings must be configured for this to be available. The
data points available in the table are selected on the AM Calculator under
Experiment Data and then you can include or exclude points by selecting or
deselecting the relevant checkboxes in the Use column.

On the Heat Source Calibration tab (Plot Renderer) the table includes these columns:

l The original experiment data for Power (W) and Speed (mm/s), plus the energy density
P/v (J/mm).
l The original experiment data for Width and Depth, now with a prefix Exp. to indicate
this is the experimental data, e.g. Exp. width (μm).

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l The calculated Width and Depth points, with the prefix Sim. to indicate it is the result of
the simulation, , e.g. Sim. width (μm).

Only the experiment data points selected for inclusion when setting up the
AM Calculator have data in these two Sim. columns.

l The Use column has a checkbox available to include or exclude those points on the Heat
Source Calibration Parameters and Melt Pool Dimensions tabs on the Visualizations
window. Furthermore, if a simulation is not used in a fit, the results from that simulation
are not included to generate functions for Heat Source Calibration parameters.

Only points that were originally included in the simulation can be selected or
deselected from the Use column. If an experiment data point needs to be added,
return to the AM Calculator, choose the point (s) to include there, and run the
simulation again. Once the simulation is complete, the points are included in this
table.

Figure 38: From example AM_06a, the Heat Source Calibration tab on the Plot Renderer for a double
ellipsoidal heat source calibration for the double ellipsoidal heat source calculation. Here experiment
from row #1 is included in the simulation as indicated by the white row and the check mark in the Use
column. Rows 2-4 were not included in this simulation and are greyed out. When a checkbox is not
selected, the results are also not included if you choose to export the result files.

Heat Source Parameters

Plot Renderer → Heat Source Calibration tab.

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These are the parameters you choose on the Plot Renderer Configuration window. There is
also a Heat Source Calibration Parameters tab on the Visualizations window that is used in
combination with the table to choose data points.

The heat source parameters available to plot for each Heat Source type (i.e. Gaussian, Double
ellipsoidal, or Conical) selected on the AM Calculator:

l Gaussian: Beam radius. Then based on the Absorptivity setting (Calculated (prefactor
calibrated) or Constant (calibrated)), also Absorptivity prefactor plus additional
options.
l Double ellipsoidal: Absorptivity, ar, af, b, and c
l Conical: Absorptivity, re, ri, and H.

There is more information about using these parameters in "AM Calculator

Conditions Settings" on page 99 → Heat Source Models section.

For all heat source parameters, you can also choose to select:

l A Constant function value i.e. the average value from all experiments or a function of
energy density, which could also be a Linear function, Cubic function, or a Sigmoid
function.
l A 2d cubic function P and v of Power (P) and Scanning speed (v).
l For extrapolating outside the range of energy density as given from the experimental
data, select a Constant value, Extrapolate linear, or choose Extrapolate for
extrapolation using the same function as chosen for interpolation.
l Set the range of energy density to interpolate the heat source parameters by entering
the appropriate values in the Below P/v and Above P/v fields.

There are R2 values (the coefficient of determination) included that say how well
the selected function fits the data. R2 ranges from zero to one, where 1 is a perfect
match. E.g. A linear function between two points.

Once all the parameter adjustments are made, you can also retain this information for future
reuse (click Save As or Save). You can also Rename or Delete these from the list as needed.

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The name of the file defaults to using the Heat Source type + the material type. For
example, Double ellipsoidal - 316L, or Gaussian - 316L.

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Working with AM Visualizations

The AM Calculator visualization using the Plot Renderer is different from the other
Calculators available in Thermo-Calc.

"About the AM Plot Types" on page 52

How the Project Nodes are Connected to the Configuration and

Visualizations Tabs
The following examples use a mix of adding an AM template and example AM_01 to provide an
overview of how the nodes in the Project window are connected to the Configuration window
settings tabs and to the different levels of tabs in the Visualizations window. Try this yourself
either by adding an AM template or open any of the examples and click around to understand
how the geometry, heat source calibration (when applicable), and various plots are connected
between all the windows.

Window Connectivity
In general:

l In the Project window, the AM Calculator, Diffusion Calculator, and Precipitation

Calculator nodes, plus all the associated successor Plot Renderer or Table Renderer
nodes, are listed in the Visualizations window on the top level tabs using the same
name as the node.
l It is recommended you rename the nodes in the Project window to meaningful names
that make it easier to navigate the visualizations.
l In the Visualizations window, a Geometry tab is always associated to the AM Calculator
node in the Project window. In addition, when a Heat Source Calibration calculation is
chosen on the AM Calculator, there is also a Heat Source Calibration secondary level
tab associated to this (at the same level as the Geometry tab).
l An AM Calculator and all its Plot Renderer successors are listed on the top level tab. The
secondary level tab has visualizations related to geometry, heat source calibration, and
the available plot types (3D Plot, Plot Over Line, Probe Plot, and the plots associated to
heat source calibration).

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l The Diffusion Calculator and any Plot Renderer or Table Renderer successors are all
listed in the Visualizations window on the top level tab. The secondary level tab has
visualizations related to the Composition Profile and Thermal Profile.
l The Precipitation Calculator and any Plot Renderer or Table Renderer successors are all
listed in the Visualizations window on the top level tab. The secondary level tab has
visualizations related to the Thermal Profile.
l The Scheil Calculator is not listed on the top level tab in the Visualizations window, but
any Plot Renderer or Table Renderer successor for this Calculator is listed on the top
level tab.
l Renaming any node in the Project window also renames the top level tabs in the
Visualizations window.
l The second level tabs on the Visualizations window cannot be renamed as these
represent the visualization type named by the system e.g. a geometry, plot type
(3D Plot, Plot Over Line, Probe Plot, etc.), or a Composition Profile (diffusion
simulations) or Thermal Profile (diffusion or precipitation simulations).
l For 2D plots (Plot Over Line 2D Plot, Probe 2D Plot), click the Table View button on the
applicable tab in the Visualizations window to convert the values into a table format.

Configuration Window
When a Plot Renderer is added to an AM Calculator in the Project window, there are default
tabs added to the Configuration window where you can further set up the available plot types.
In this example, two tabs, 3D Plot and Plot Over Line, are provided for you to set up these plot
types.

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Visualizations Window
In the Visualizations window, the upper tab level is connected to a second level of tabs that
represent the available visualizations. A Geometry tab is always associated to the AM
Calculator node. Then for any Plot Renderer node, all of the plotting types such as a 3D Plot,
Plot Over Line, Probe, and Thermal Gradient vs Solidification Rate are listed in the secondary
tab level.

There is not always something to visualize at the second tab level. Keep an eye on
the underlined tabs on both levels, i.e. click the upper level tab and look for the
underlined second level tab associated to it and that is what is displayed. Also note
that clicking the upper level tabs in the Visualizations window does not change the
focus of the node clicked in the Project window, although the opposite is true.

Each node in the Project window is represented across the top set of tabs in the Visualizations
window. Then the associated tab on the Visualizations window displays below as a secondary
level. For example, in the Project window, if you click the AM Calculator node (in AM_01 it is
renamed to Transient, DE HS), then on the Visualizations window the Transient, DE HS tab is
highlighted and has a blue underline. On the second tab level, the Geometry tab is also
underlined to indicate it is associated to the Transient, DE HS tab. What is actually displayed in
the Visualizations window is based on the second tab.

Then for each Plot Renderer added and defined, the secondary tab level is connected to what is
visualized. For example, a Plot Renderer is added to the AM Calculator in the Project window.
In this case, the node is renamed to 3D plot. When this node is clicked in the Project window,
the 3D plot tab is highlighted and underlined in the Visualizations window.

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You can also click each of the top level tabs in the Visualizations window at any
time to navigate the visualizations, but the node focus in the Project window does
not change to match.

Figure 39: When you click a node in the Project window, the associated tab is highlighted and
underlined in the Visualizations window. Then the second level of tabs are further underlined to
indicate what is associated to the selected top level tab, and this is what actually displays in the
Visualizations window.

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In the Visualizations window, the top level tab for Plot Renderer is further connected to the
3D Plot and Plot Over Line tabs. You can determine what you are actually viewing in the
Visualizations window based on the upper level highlighted and underlined tab and then
further by the second level underlined tab.

Visualizing Heat Source Calibrations

The following is available for a Steady-state → Heat Source Calibration Calculation Type.

"About Heat Source Calibration" on page 34

During the set up of the Heat Source Calibration, experiment data is either entered or
imported to the AM Calculator. You can then view the Heat Source Calibration on a second level
tab in the Visualizations window. This is associated to the AM Calculator.

Then once the experiment data is included and the heat source calibration is performed, you
can further create plots on the Plot Renderer to examine the Heat Calibration Parameters and
Melt Pool Dimensions.

More details about this are described in a separate topic. See "Visualizing Heat
Source Calibrations" on page 157.

Visualizing Batch and Grid Calculations

The following is available for a Steady-state → Batch or Grid Calculation Type.

Results from Steady-state simulations using Batch or Grid calculations contain multiple steady-
state results, one for each power and scan speed. The results can be visualized individually
using a 3D Plot and Plot Over Line (described above). The combined result from all steady-state
simulations can additionally be visualized from the Batch tab (available on the Plot Renderer
Configuration window after the Batch calculation), and similarly from the Grid tab after a Grid
calculation. On these tabs you choose additional plot types Printability map, Parity plot, and
Melt pool vs energy density.

A table of the experimental and calculated values can be viewed when you click to toggle
between the Show Table or Hide Table buttons. The table is displayed in the Plot Renderer
Configuration window for the relevant Batch or Grid tab.

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Figure 40: The simulated and experimental melt pool dimension can also be tabulated for all data
using the toggle button to Show Table or Hide Table. This is from example AM_09b.

More details about this are described in separate topics. See "Visualizing Batch
Calculations in the AM Module" on page 167 and for the various plot settings for a
Grid, these are included with the general topic, "AM Calculator: Plot Renderer
Settings" on page 126.

There is a video tutorial about the Printability Map on our website and on our
YouTube channel. It is also included in the Additive Manufacturing Module
YouTube playlist.

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AM Visualizations Window Plot Toolbar

The Visualizations window by default has tabs included to help you visualize both the set up
using the available Calculators (e.g. AM Calculator, Diffusion Calculator, and Precipitation
Calculator) and the results that are calculated via a Plot Renderer or Table Renderer. For
2D plots, you can also view data by clicking the Table View button.

"Rotate, Zoom, and Pan 3D Plots: AM Calculations" on page 155

"Working with AM Visualizations" on page 143

Button Name Action

Zoom to heat
Click to zoom to the heat source.
source position

Set view to 3D Click to reset the view where you zoom out to see the whole geometry.

Click to orient to a side view in the

Set view l YZ-axes direction.
direction to YZ,
XZ, or XY l XZ-axes direction.
l XY-axes direction.

Azimuth
rotation, Ctrl+ Click to rotate around the free axis. Press and hold CTRL + click the mouse to
for invert control the direction turned.
rotation

Elevation
rotation, Ctrl+ Click to rotate around the free axis. Press and hold CTRL + click the mouse to
for invert control the direction turned.
rotation

Roll rotation,
Ctrl+ for invert Rotate around the free axis Click Ctl+button to control the direction turned
rotation

Save camera There are two attributes that are saved when the Save camera view angle and
view angle and zoom level button is clicked. The view angle of the camera and the zoom level.

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Button Name Action

Then when you click the Apply saved camera view and zoom level , it mirrors the
view angle of the camera and the zoom level. This is available for any 3D plot tab
zoom level on the Visualizations window.

Only one camera position can be saved/retained at any time for use.

First use the Save camera view angle and zoom level to save the desired view.
Apply saved Then click the Apply saved camera view and zoom level button to mirror the view
camera view angle of the camera and the zoom level. This is available for any 3D plot tab on the
angle and zoom Visualizations window.
level
Only one camera position can be saved/retained at any time for use.

Show grid Click to turn on and off the mesh grid.

Show heat
Click to show and hide the heat source.
source

When in steady state you only see half the geometry. Click to show the whole
Mirror geometry
geometry, click again to show half the geometry.

— Hide layers Enter a number of layers to hide

Show Outer Box Click to turn on and off the outer box geometry.

Show line
between powder Click to turn on and off a line and plane around the powder layer thickness.
and solid

Click to show or hide the melt pool. This is the same thing as showing the size of
Show Size of the
the liquidus iso-surface plot. When clicked you also see the measurements in the
Melt Pool
Event Log window and shows on the Visualizations window.

Show Size of Click to show or hide the melt pool and mushy zone. This is the same thing as
Melt Pool plus showing the size of the solidus iso-surface plot. When clicked you also see the
Mushy Zone measurements in the Event Log window and shows on the Visualizations window.

Click to use the manual ruler to measure the melt flow.

Show Manual l Double click each time to add the start and end points.
Ruler
l To align a ruler on the x-, y-, or z- axis: Hold CTRL when adding or moving

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Button Name Action

the end point. The ruler snaps to the closest point on the same axis.

l To move a ruler: Click and hold a point, then drag to reposition.

l Right-click a point to delete it.

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Menu or Keyboard Options: Geometry and 3D Plots

When working with the AM Calculator (probes) and its associated Plot Renderer (for 3D Plots),
there are menu options or tooltip guidelines available to access certain actions for probes,
markers, or to save a snapshot image from the Visualizations window.

Plot- and Geometry-related Menus to Save Images

When available, right-click in the Visualizations window and choose Save As from the menu to
save the current view in png, gif, or jpg format. This saves an image snapshot of the 3D Plot or
Geometry at the zoom level and angle you are currently viewing.

l Geometry: When setting up probes, you can right-click on the Geometry to save the
current view.
l 3D Plot: When working with a 3D Plot, you can right-click anywhere on the 3D Plot to
save the current view. This option is only available with AM Calculator 3D plots.

Probe-related Menus and Tooltips

"AM Calculator: Working with Probe Data" on page 124

When you are picking the coordinates for the probe location, there is a menu available when
you right-click a point on the Geometry in the Visualizations window. There are also tooltips
that can help guide you.

1. On the Configuration window for an AM Calculator, under Probe Positions, click Pick
coordinate. Hover over the button to view the tooltips with options to:
a. Double-click on the geometry to pick a coordinate.
b. Hold the <Ctrl> key and double-click to pick the position at the middle of a layer.
c. Hold the <Shift> key and double-click to map the picking position with a scanning
path.
d. Hold the <Shift+Alt> keys and double-click to map the picking position to the
middle of the scanning path.
2. In the Visualizations window on the Geometry tab, use one of the methods to add a
probe point to the geometry, for example double-click to add a probe.

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3. In the Visualizations window, right-click to choose an option from the menu associated
to the new Pick coordinate probe point:
a. Set probe to this position: Sets to the location where the probe is located at the
time of selecting.
b. Set probe to the nearest path line: Moves the probe to the path line, which can
be where other probes are already set up.
c. Set probe to the middle of the two nearest path lines: This only works if there
are two path lines, otherwise the probe does not move.
d. Save As...: Select this to save an image of the current view of the probes (a
snapshot at the zoom level chosen). You can save in png, gif, or jpg formats.
e. Close : Closes this menu.

Marker-related Menus and Tooltips for 3D Plots (AM Module Only)

Markers are added to 3D plots in the Visualizations window. For example, you are measuring
the distance between two points on a heat source.

1. On the Visualizations window for an AM Calculator Plot Renderer (and after running a
3D Plot), click the Show Manual Ruler button on the toolbar. Hover over the button to
view the tooltips with options to:
a. Double-click each time to add the start and end points.
b. To align a ruler on the x-, y-, or z-axis: Hold <Ctrl> when adding or moving the
end point. The ruler snaps to the closest point on the same axis.
c. To move a ruler: Click and hold a point, then drag to reposition.
d. Right-click a point to delete the ruler.

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2. Click in the plot area to add markers for the start and end points, for example. Once the
marker is on the plot, you can delete it or save an image of the plot at the current view.
l To delete a marker, zoom as close to it as possible and right-click the marker to
bring up the menu. Select Delete marker from the list. You might have to move
the mouse around the area of the marker or zoom further to access the menu
options.
l To save an image of the plot at the current view, click anywhere in the plot and
select Save as. Select this to save an image in png. gif, or jpg format.

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Rotate, Zoom, and Pan 3D Plots: AM Calculations

When working with the Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module and the results from an "AM
Calculator" on page 96 simulation, two general plot types are added to the Visualizations
window: a 3D plot and a Plot over line 2D plot. The 2D plot has the same functionality as for
other calculations but the 3D plot is specific to this Module.

In addition to the Visualizations window for an AM 3D plot having its own set of buttons (see
"AM Visualizations Window Plot Toolbar" on page 149) there are also different ways to work
with the 3D plots with respect to rotating, zooming, and panning the geometry around the
window.

l In combination with the following actions use these buttons on the toolbar:

Set View to 3D

Set View Direction .

l Rotate the geometry : Left-click and hold the mouse, then move it around the window
to rotate in any direction. Hold CTRL + left mouse button to rotate on a specific axis.
l Zoom in and out: Scroll the mouse wheel or right-click and move the mouse up and
down in the window.
l Pan the geometry: Hold Shift + left mouse button then move the mouse up or down,
left or right, to move the geometry around the window without zooming.

Go to the Help (press F1 in Thermo-Calc) to view a short video showing the use of
these actions.

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Overlaying Plots in the AM Module

In general, it is now possible to overlay plots from any Calculator with plots from any other
Calculator.

2D plots are overlaid pair-wise which means if you add two or more AM Calculators as a
predecessor in one Plot Renderer, similar 2D plots (such as Probe with Probe and Plot Over Line
with Plot Over Line, etc.) are grouped and overlaid in one tab on the Visualizations window.

The most important use case is that you can overlay Probe plots from different Transient and
Transient with heat source from Steady-state Calculators and Plot Over Line plots from all AM
Calculators. Similarly, you can also overlay Meltpool vs energy density and Parity plot from
different Batch, Grid, and Heat Source Calibration calculators.

You need to click Perform to make plot overlaying work.

It is not possible to overlay two 3D plots. However, when you want to plot two or
more variables in a comparable way to overlaying plots in 2D, you use one Plot
Renderer connected to at least two AM Calculators. Then on the 3D Plot tab on
the Configuration (settings) window you choose different quantities from the Axis
variable list. Use the and buttons as usual to add and remove quantities. The
plots are then viewed on separate 3D Plot tabs on the Visualizations window.
After defining the axis variables, click Perform to update the plots on the
respective Visualization 3D Plot tabs. It is also important to rename your
AM Calculators in order to better work with these plots.

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Visualizing Heat Source Calibrations

This topic describes both the AM Calculator and the Plot Renderer visualization outcomes
related to the heat source calibration calculations for a Steady-state simulation.

To import data for use in batch calculations, it is recommended you review

"AM Calculator Experiment File Requirements" on page 113. Also review "Working
with AM Visualizations" on page 143, which provides an overview of how most of
the windows are connected.

It is recommended to open and run one of the examples to best understand the
wide variety of visualization outcomes: "AM_06a: Calibrating a Heat Source for a
316L Steel" on page 208 and "AM_06b: Using the Calibrated Heat Source for a 316L
Steel" on page 215

Working with AM Calculator Heat Source Calibration Experiment

Data
During the set up of the Heat Source Calibration, experiment data is either entered or
imported to the AM Calculator table where it is visible on its associated Configuration window.

Click the relevant AM Calculator node in the Project window to preview the table data via a
Heat Source Calibration tab on the Visualizations window.

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Use the table's Use column on the AM Calculator Configuration window to select the relevant
checkboxes for which Width and Depth points to include (i.e. use) or exclude (i.e. not use).

You can click or hover over any point on the Heat Source Calibration preview to display the
label, which also includes the corresponding table row (i.e. Experiment) number for the point.

On the Heat Source Calibration window :

l For this calibration view, Width uses blue squares (solid color means used, hollow with
same color outline means not used)
l For this calibration view, Depth uses red circles (solid color means used, hollow with
same color outline means not used)
l The preview shows the energy density (P/v) on the X-axis and melt pool dimensions on
the Y-axis.

Click to select or deselect checkboxes in the table to dynamically watch the selection change on
the Visualizations window. The points that are selected in this table are used in the simulation
results and are later labeled Exp.Width and Exp.Depth in the Plot Renderer Configuration table
(see Figure 43). Then the calculated results are added to new columns labeled Sim.Width and
Sim.Depth in the data table on the Plot Renderer Configuration window (see below).

Sometimes an experiment data point is selected in the table on the AM Calculator

but after running the simulation it is not available in the corresponding Plot
Renderer table (i.e. it is a greyed out row). This indicates that the calibration could
not be calculated for that particular data point.

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Figure 41: From example AM_06a, this is the heat source calibration preview for the data imported
to the AM Calculator node (renamed to AM Calibration Double Ellipsoidal). As per the legend, both
"used" (solid color) and "not used" (hollow with outline color) points are included in this preview.

Once a set of data is imported to the table (or entered manually), expand the
Configuration window to reveal the scroll bars. Then you can scroll up or down,
left or right, within the table to select checkboxes for the relevant data points you
want to include or exclude. This is applicable to the tables found on the
AM Calculator as well as those on the Plot Renderer for the data.

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Working with the Plot Renderer for Heat Source Calibrations

After the calibration is completed on the AM Calculator and the simulation run, then on the
Plot Renderer Configuration window you can start to use the data.

For additional Plot Renderer settings (and other visualization options for
plotting) go to "AM Calculator: Plot Renderer Settings" on page 126.

Adding the Heat Source Calibration Plots

1. Add a Plot Renderer to the AM Calculator.
2. Choose an experiment point from the Heat Source Calibration list. The points in this list
match the points selected in the Use column on the AM Calculator.
3. Click Perform.
4. Click the Heat Source Calibration tab on the Plot Renderer Configuration window to (1)
view the table of data and (2) view the Heat Source Calibration Parameters and Melt
Pool Dimensions tabs in the Visualizations window on the secondary level of tabs. These

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tabs are where you fine-tune the choice of data points: Click the checkbox for the Use
column for each row (experiment #) to observe the dynamic changes on the Heat
Source Calibration Parameters and Melt Pool Dimensions tabs on the Visualizations
window.

Navigating the Heat Source Calibration Table

On the Heat Source Calibration tab (Plot Renderer) the table includes these columns:

l The original experiment data for Power (W) and Speed (mm/s), plus the energy density
P/v (J/mm).
l The original experiment data for Width and Depth, now with a prefix Exp. to indicate
this is the experimental data, e.g. Exp. width (μm).
l The calculated Width and Depth points, with the prefix Sim. to indicate it is the result of
the simulation, , e.g. Sim. width (μm).

Only the experiment data points selected for inclusion when setting up the
AM Calculator have data in these two Sim. columns.

l The Use column has a checkbox available to include or exclude those points on the Heat
Source Calibration Parameters and Melt Pool Dimensions tabs on the Visualizations
window. Furthermore, if a simulation is not used in a fit, the results from that simulation
are not included to generate functions for Heat Source Calibration parameters.

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Only points that were originally included in the simulation can be selected or
deselected from the Use column. If an experiment data point needs to be added,
return to the AM Calculator, choose the point (s) to include there, and run the
simulation again. Once the simulation is complete, the points are included in this
table.

Figure 42: From example AM_06a, the Heat Source Calibration tab on the Plot Renderer for a double
ellipsoidal heat source calibration for the double ellipsoidal heat source calculation. Here experiment
from row #1 is included in the simulation as indicated by the white row and the check mark in the Use
column. Rows 2-4 were not included in this simulation and are greyed out. When a checkbox is not
selected, the results are also not included if you choose to export the result files.

Working with the Heat Source Calibration Parameters

Based on the type of heat source selected on the AM Calculator, below the Heat Source
Calibration table there are additional parameters you can choose to include or exclude from
the Heat Source Calibration Parameters and Melt Pool Dimensions plots.

Once the selection of experiments is made in the Configuration window for the Heat Source
Calibration, you can choose appropriate functions for each heat source parameter including the
absorptivity. See Figure 43 for an example of the available parameters for a Double ellipsoidal
Heat Source.

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Figure 43: From example AM_06a, these are the available parameters for a double ellipsoidal heat
source simulation. The available parameters are based on the heat source chosen on the
AM Calculator during set up.

Click to select or deselect the Plot checkbox and watch the change on the
Visualizations window for both the Heat Source Calibration Parameters and Melt
Pool Dimensions plots. There are several options to choose from in this section
that each change the plots dynamically.

The heat source parameters available to plot for each Heat Source type (i.e. Gaussian, Double
ellipsoidal, or Conical) selected on the AM Calculator:

l Gaussian: Beam radius. Then based on the Absorptivity setting (Calculated (prefactor
calibrated) or Constant (calibrated)), also Absorptivity prefactor plus additional
options.
l Double ellipsoidal: Absorptivity, ar, af, b, and c
l Conical: Absorptivity, re, ri, and H.

There is more information about using these parameters in "AM Calculator

Conditions Settings" on page 99 → Heat Source Models section.

For all heat source parameters, you can also choose to select:

l A Constant function value i.e. the average value from all experiments or a function of
energy density, which could also be a Linear function, Cubic function, or a Sigmoid
function.

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l A 2d cubic function P and v of Power (P) and Scanning speed (v).

l For extrapolating outside the range of energy density as given from the experimental
data, select a Constant value, Extrapolate linear, or choose Extrapolate for
extrapolation using the same function as chosen for interpolation.
l Set the range of energy density to interpolate the heat source parameters by entering
the appropriate values in the Below P/v and Above P/v fields.

There are R2 values (the coefficient of determination) included that say how well
the selected function fits the data. R2 ranges from zero to one, where 1 is a perfect
match. E.g. A linear function between two points.

Once all the parameter adjustments are made, you can also retain this information for future
reuse (click Save As or Save). You can also Rename or Delete these from the list as needed.

The name of the file defaults to using the Heat Source type + the material type. For
example, Double ellipsoidal - 316L, or Gaussian - 316L.

Visualizations Window

Heat Source Calibration Parameters Plot

A Heat Source Calibration Parameters plot shows the calibrated heat source parameters as a
function of energy density (P/v) (unit J/mm). From the Plot Renderer Configuration window,
you can also continue to select which experiments to be used to fit the calibration.

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Figure 44: From example AM_06a, the Heat Source Calibration Parameters plot for the double
ellipsoidal calibration.

For instance, you can deselect the points that seem to be outliers or where the error bar in
experimental data is large.

The selection is done via the checkboxes available in the Use column.

Melt Pool Dimensions Plot

A Melt Pool Dimensions plot shows melt pool size, both from experiments and simulations, as
a function of energy density (P/v). This plot can be used to compare the results from the
experiments and optimization simulations.

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Figure 45: From example AM_06a, the Melt Pool Dimensions plot for the double ellipsoidal
calibration.

3D Plot and Plot Over Line

Use a 3D Plot to visualize all the experiments for which the calibration is performed. To show
the 3D plot for a certain experiment, select the corresponding experiment from the Heat
Source Calibration Experiments menu. The configuration in the 3D Plot works in the same way
as for a single point steady-state calculation.

For Plot Over Line, plot the data along a line for the selected experiment. To show the plot over
line for a specific experiment, select the corresponding experiment from the Heat Source
Calibration Experiments menu. The configuration in the Plot Over Line works in the same way
as for a single point steady-state calculation.

"About the AM Plot Types" on page 52

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Visualizing Batch Calculations in the AM Module

This topic describes the AM Calculator visualizations related to the Batch calculations for a
Steady-state simulation. There are further settings and visualization possibilities s that are
available when you are working on the Plot Renderer.

To import data for use in batch calculations, it is recommended you review

"AM Calculator Experiment File Requirements" on page 113. Also review "Working
with AM Visualizations" on page 143, which provides an overview of how most of
the windows are connected.

It is recommended to open and run one of the examples to best understand the
wide variety of visualization outcomes: "AM_07: Batch Calculations for an IN718
Alloy" on page 220, "AM_08b: Batch Calculations for a Ti64 Alloy" on page 234, and
"AM_09b: Batch Calculations for an SS316L Alloy" on page 246

Working with AM Calculator Batch Experiment Data

From example AM_08b, where the general behavior related to importing data to the table is
the same as other places in Thermo-Calc.

In the Project window, click the relevant AM Calculator node (in this example renamed to AM
Ti64 Batch) to work on the Configuration window and preview the table data via a Batch tab on
the Visualizations window.

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During the set up of a calculation, the Batch Experiment Data is imported into the
AM Calculator Configuration window, where you can review the data and choose to include or
exclude data points by selecting and deselecting the checkboxes as needed in the Use column
(see Figure 46). At the same time, you can observe the change as this is updated in the
Visualizations window (see Figure 47). Data can also be entered directly into the table.

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Figure 46: The experimental data used for the Batch calculation for the single track experiments of
Ti64 is imported to the AM Calculator table where you can review the data points and include or
exclude as needed using the checkboxes.

Figure 47: The visualization of the experimental melt pool dimensions are shown as a function of the
energy density P/v. You can adjust the selected points in the Batch Experiment Data table and watch
the updates dynamically in this window.

Including or Excluding Data Points

The following discusses visualization options available on the Configuration windows for both
the AM Calculator and Plot Renderer.

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You can click or hover over any point on the Batch preview to display the label, which also
includes the corresponding table row (i.e. Experiment) number for the point.

Use the table's Use column on the AM Calculator Configuration window to select the relevant
checkboxes for which Width and Depth points to include (i.e. use) or exclude (i.e. not use).

Figure 48: From example AM_08b, on the AM Calculator, the checkbox for row (experiment) #1 can
be deselected to exclude the data point in the calculations.

On the Batch tab on the Visualizations window, the preview shows the P/v on the X-axis and
Melt pool dimensions on the Y-axis:

l Width uses blue squares (solid color means used, hollow with same color outline means
not used)
l Depth uses red circles (solid color means used, hollow with same color outline means
not used)

When you toggle the Use checkbox selection, the preview dynamically updates in the
Visualizations window to indicate which data points are used (filled) or not used (hollow), both
on the preview and in the legend.

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The points that are selected in the Batch Experiment Data table are used in the simulation
results and are later labeled Exp.Width and Exp.Depth in the Plot Renderer Configuration table
(see Figure 49). Then the calculated results are added to new columns labeled Sim.Width and
Sim.Depth.

Figure 49: From example AM_08b, this is the Batch tab on the Plot Renderer Configuration window
where row (experiment) #1 data point is excluded from the results after selecting it on the
AM Calculator. When a checkbox is not selected here, the results are also not included if you choose
to export the result files. The details about Plot Renderer settings are in the topic"AM Calculator: Plot
Renderer Settings" on page 126.

Working with the Batch Table on the Plot Renderer

After the Batch Experiment Data set up is completed on the AM Calculator and the simulation
run, then on the Plot Renderer Configuration window you can start to work with the data you
want to plot. Also see Including or Excluding Data Points to understand the interaction between
these two tables.

For additional Plot Renderer settings (and other visualization options for
plotting) go to "Batch Calculations" on page 134.

Navigating the Batch Table

You may have already included or excluded data points earlier when previewing the data. Use
the Show Table or Hide Table buttons to view the included or excluded data and continue to
fine tune the plot.

On the Batch tab the table includes these columns:

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l The original experiment data for Power (W) and Speed (mm/s), plus the P/v (J/mm).
l The original experiment data for Width and Depth, now with a prefix Exp. e.g.
Exp.width (μm), to indicate this is the experimental data.
l The calculated Width and Depth points, with the prefix Sim., e.g. Sim.width (μm), to
indicate it is the result of the simulation.

Only the experiment data points selected for inclusion when setting up the
AM Calculator have data in these two Sim. columns.

l The Use column has a checkbox available to continue to include or exclude those points
on the plots. When a checkbox is not selected, the results are also not included if you
choose to export the result files.

Only points that were originally included in the simulation can be selected
or deselected from the Use column. If an experiment data point needs to
be added, return to the AM Calculator, choose the point (s) to include
there, and run the simulation again. Once the simulation is complete, the
points are included in this table.

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Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module Examples

Without a license, the Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module examples are

available to open and view the settings. However, no calculations can be done.

In this section:

AM_01: Transient Simulation of a Single Track 174

AM_02: Transient and Steady-state Simulations of a Single Track 181

AM_03: Steady-state Simulations 187

AM_04: Scheil Transient Steady-state 192

AM_05: Using AM Calculator Probe Data with the Diffusion Module (DICTRA) 199

AM_06a: Calibrating a Heat Source for a 316L Steel 208

AM_06b: Using the Calibrated Heat Source for a 316L Steel 215

AM_07: Batch Calculations for an IN718 Alloy 220

AM_08a: Grid Calculation for a Ti64 Alloy 227

AM_08b: Batch Calculations for a Ti64 Alloy 234

AM_09a: Grid Calculation for an SS316L Alloy 240

AM_09b: Batch Calculations for an SS316L Alloy 246

AM_10: CET Transition in an IN718 Alloy 252

AM_11: Comparing Single Tracks Printed on Casted and LPBF Substrates 257

AM_12: Using AM Calculator Probe Data with the Precipitation Module (TC-PRISMA) 267

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AM_01: Transient Simulation of a Single Track

The following example is part of a series showing some of the features of the Additive
Manufacturing (AM) Module and the AM Calculator. In this example, a single track simulation is
performed using the Transient model of the AM Calculator.

Project File and License Information

l Folder: Additive Manufacturing
l File name: AM_01_Transient_DE_No_Marangoni.tcu

A separate license is required to perform calculations with the Additive

Manufacturing (AM) Module. Without a license you are in Demo Mode where you
can, for example, open and view example set ups, run some examples, add
templates and nodes to the Project window, adjust some Configuration settings,
and preview some functionality on the Visualizations window.

Some examples (AM_01, AM_02, AM_03, and AM_06b) are available to all users.
These examples can be run without an additional Additive Manufacturing license
when you are in DEMO (demonstration) mode. However, the AM Module is not
available with the Educational version of Thermo-Calc. Search the help for
Available Options with the Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module. See "Available
Options" on page 10 for details.

Material Properties
These properties are the same for both AM_01 and AM_02.

l Inconel 738LC: Ni-15.8 Cr-8.6 Co-2.7 W-3.3 Ti-3.6 Al-1.8 Ta-1.8 Mo-0.04 Fe-0.8 Nb-0.002
Mn-0.1 C Mass percent.
l Database: TCNI12
l The material property was pre-calculated, and stored as a built-in material library of the
Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module.

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Reference
[2021Gra] D. Grange, A. Queva, G. Guillemot, M. Bellet, J.-D. Bartout, C. Colin, Effect of
processing parameters during the laser beam melting of Inconel 738: Comparison between
simulated and experimental melt pool shape. J. Mater. Process. Technol. 289, 116897
(2021).

Model Configuration
The transient model solves for the heat equation in the entire 3D domain, including the melt
pool, and is therefore, computationally expensive to solve. The fluid flow inside the melt pool
due to the Marangoni effect is not included in this example. The double ellipsoidal, or the so-
called Goldak heat source model, is used to predict melt pool size and temperature distribution
during single track scanning. The parameters for the double ellipsoidal heat source are
computed using optimization in a steady-state case for the given process parameters (power
and scanning speed) and the melt pool size reported in the paper by Grange et al. [2021Gra].
The resulting parameters are shown in Figure 50.

Figure 50: Optimized heat source parameters entered on the AM Calculator for the experiment given
in Grange et al. [2021Gra] with power = 230 W and scanning speed = 960 mm/s.

The geometry for a transient simulation, as given in the paper by Grange et al. [2021Gra], is
shown in Figure 51. The base plate is 2 mm in length, 0.5 mm in width, and with a thickness of
0.95 mm. A layer of powder with a thickness of 55 μm is deposited on the solid substrate. The
powder layer, however, has the same material properties as the solid substrate. The laser beam
with a power of 230 W develops linear scanning with constant velocity 960 mm/s. The
trajectory evolves from initial position (x, y) = (0.25, 0.25) mm to final position (1.75, 0.25) mm
on the top surface.

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Figure 51: The geometry used for the Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module examples AM_01 and
AM_02.

Two probes monitor the temporal evolution of temperature at positions shown in Figure 52.
The results can be presented by tabulated data or as 2D graph plots.

Figure 52: Probe positions for Probes P1 and P2, where P1 is placed exactly on the scanning track
while P2 is placed at a distance of 0.04 mm from the track, as shown in a close up of the probes on
the Visualizations window.

Visualizations
Open the example project file to review the node setup on the Project window and the
associated settings on the Configuration window for each node. For some types of projects,

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you can also adjust settings on the Plot Renderer Configuration window to preview results
before performing the simulation. Click Perform Tree to generate plots and tables to see the
results on the Visualizations window.

When you run (Perform) this example, it takes at least 30 minutes for the
calculations to complete.

There is a variety of information shown in the Visualizations window that can be viewed during
configuration and after performing the calculation(s).

l Geometry: View the geometry and adjust parameters visually by changing inputs on the
Configuration window. Add probes needed.
l Melt pool and other dynamically changing features can also be visualized and changed.
l Plot results: After completing the set up and performing the calculation, to view the
matching name of the node on tab(s) in the Visualizations window, click a Plot
Renderer node in the Project window or click the tabs individually in the Visualizations
window.

In the surface plot it shows the temperature distribution after the scanning process is
completed. It is noted that the melt pool shape reaches a steady-state when the laser beam
approaches the end of the scanning track. The melt pool dimensions at the end of scanning
track is given in the table.

Melt Pool Dimension Size (mm)

Width 0.125

Depth 0.144

Length 1.12

If you are in the project file, click the Probe plot node in the Project window and
the 3D Plot tab in the Visualizations window.

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Figure 53: Surface plot of temperature distribution after the single track scan is completed. Probes P1
and P2 can also be seen on the top surface.

It is also possible to plot quantities at different cross-sections inside the domain by selecting the
Slice checkbox on the Plot Renderer Configuration window under the 3D Plot tab. The next
figure shows the temperature slices plotted at cross-sections orthogonal to the scanning
direction.

Figure 54: Slices of the computational domain, orthogonal to the scanning direction, showing
temperature distribution at different cross-sections. Red tubes show the contour of the melt pool (at
liquidus temperature).

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Figure 55: 2D probe plot showing temperature evolution as a function of time at probes P1 and P2.

Figure 56: 2D plot over line showing temperature in the tail of the melt pool as a function of distance
plotted along the scanning track.

Other Resources

Read more about the Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module on our website
including the details about database compatibility or to watch an introductory
webinar. You can also use the Getting Started Guide to learn about the key
features available.

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Many of our Graphical Mode examples have video tutorials, which you can access
in a variety of ways. When in Thermo-Calc, from the menu select Help → Video
Tutorials, or from the main My Project window, click Video Tutorials. Alternately,
you can go to the website or our YouTube channel.

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AM_02: Transient and Steady-state Simulations of a

Single Track

The following example is part of a series showing some of the features of the Additive
Manufacturing (AM) Module and the AM Calculator. This example builds on the work done by
Grange et al. [2021Gra] and is similar to example AM_01. The difference however is that in this
example a single track simulation is performed using Transient with heat source from Steady-
state model instead of the Transient model.

The Transient with heat source from Steady-state model exploits the assumption that the melt
pool size and temperature distribution reaches a steady-state almost instantly and thus first
solves for a Steady-state case with the given process parameters. The result from the Steady-
state in the form of temperature distribution in the melt pool is then mapped as a heat source
in the transient simulation. This novel approach is much faster and efficient than the approach
used in example AM_01 where the heat equation is solved in the entire 3D domain.

Project File and License Information

l Folder: Additive Manufacturing
l File name: AM_02_TransientSS_DE.tcu

A separate license is required to perform calculations with the Additive

Manufacturing (AM) Module. Without a license you are in Demo Mode where you
can, for example, open and view example set ups, run some examples, add
templates and nodes to the Project window, adjust some Configuration settings,
and preview some functionality on the Visualizations window.

Some examples (AM_01, AM_02, AM_03, and AM_06b) are available to all users.
These examples can be run without an additional Additive Manufacturing license
when you are in DEMO (demonstration) mode. However, the AM Module is not
available with the Educational version of Thermo-Calc. Search the help for
Available Options with the Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module. See "Available
Options" on page 10 for details.

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Material Properties
These properties are the same for both AM_01 and AM_02.

l Inconel 738LC: Ni-15.8 Cr-8.6 Co-2.7 W-3.3 Ti-3.6 Al-1.8 Ta-1.8 Mo-0.04 Fe-0.8 Nb-0.002
Mn-0.1 C Mass percent.
l Database: TCNI12
l The material property was pre-calculated, and stored as a built-in material library of the
Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module.

Reference
[2021Gra] D. Grange, A. Queva, G. Guillemot, M. Bellet, J.-D. Bartout, C. Colin, Effect of
processing parameters during the laser beam melting of Inconel 738: Comparison between
simulated and experimental melt pool shape. J. Mater. Process. Technol. 289, 116897
(2021).

Model Configuration
The transient model solves for the heat equation in the entire 3D domain, including the melt
pool, and is therefore, computationally expensive to solve. The fluid flow inside the melt pool
due to the Marangoni effect is not included in this example. The double ellipsoidal, or the so-
called Goldak heat source model, is used to predict melt pool size and temperature distribution
during single track scanning. The parameters for the double ellipsoidal heat source are
computed using optimization in a steady-state case for the given process parameters (power
and scanning speed) and the melt pool size reported in the paper by Grange et al. [2021Gra].
The resulting parameters are shown in Figure 57.

Figure 57: Optimized heat source parameters entered on the AM Calculator for the experiment given
in Grange et al. [2021Gra] with power = 230 W and scanning speed = 960 mm/s.

The geometry for a transient simulation, as given in the paper by Grange et al. [2021Gra], is
shown in Figure 58. The base plate is 2 mm in length, 0.5 mm in width, and with a thickness of
0.95 mm. A layer of powder with a thickness of 55 μm is deposited on the solid substrate. The
powder layer, however, has the same material properties as the solid substrate. The laser beam
with a power of 230 W develops linear scanning with constant velocity 960 mm/s. The
trajectory evolves from initial position (x, y) = (0.25, 0.25) mm to final position (1.75, 0.25) mm
on the top surface.

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Figure 58: The geometry used for the Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module examples AM_01 and
AM_02.

Two probes monitor the temporal evolution of temperature at positions shown in Figure 59.
The results can be presented by tabulated data or as 2D graph plots.

Figure 59: Probe positions for Probes P1 and P2, where P1 is placed exactly on the scanning track
while P2 is placed at a distance of 0.04 mm from the track, as shown in a close up of the probes on
the Visualizations window.

Visualizations
Open the example project file to review the node setup on the Project window and the
associated settings on the Configuration window for each node. For some types of projects,

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you can also adjust settings on the Plot Renderer Configuration window to preview results
before performing the simulation. Click Perform Tree to generate plots and tables to see the
results on the Visualizations window.

There is a variety of information shown in the Visualizations window that can be viewed during
configuration and after performing the calculation(s).

l Geometry: View the geometry and adjust parameters visually by changing inputs on the
Configuration window.
l Melt pool and other dynamically changing features can also be visualized and changed.
l Plot results: After completing the set up and performing the calculation, to view the
matching name of the node on tab(s) in the Visualizations window, click a Plot
Renderer node in the Project window or click the tabs individually in the Visualizations
window.

With the example open and after it is run, the following is a summary of what is visible on the
Visualizationswindow.

The figure below shows the surface plot of temperature distribution after the single track
scanning is completed. The temperature profile is qualitatively similar to the one in example
AM_01, however the maximum temperature is slightly lower in example AM_02. This could be
due to selection of a coarse mesh in both examples which sometimes could affect the
maximum temperature.

Figure 60: Surface plot of temperature distribution after the single track scan is completed. Probes P1
and P2 can also be seen on the top surface.

The melt pool dimensions for AM_02 are given in the following table, which are very similar to
the melt pool dimensions obtained in example AM_01.

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Melt Pool Dimension Size (mm)

Width 0.127

Depth 0.129

Length 1.12

A qualitative comparison between AM_01 and AM_02 can also be made by looking at probe
plots. The probe plot for AM_02 is given in Figure 61.

Figure 61: 2D probe plot showing temperature evolution as a function of time at probes P1 and P2.

Despite the fact that maximum temperature is higher in AM_01, the temperature profile in the
tail of the melt pool and close to the melt pool is very similar. This can also be concluded by
comparing plot over lines for the two examples, where the plot over line for AM_02 is given in
Figure 62.

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Figure 62: 2D plot over line showing temperature in the tail of the melt pool as a function of distance
plotted along the scanning track.

Other Resources

Read more about the Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module on our website
including the details about database compatibility or to watch an introductory
webinar. You can also use the Getting Started Guide to learn about the key
features available.

Many of our Graphical Mode examples have video tutorials, which you can access
in a variety of ways. When in Thermo-Calc, from the menu select Help → Video
Tutorials, or from the main My Project window, click Video Tutorials. Alternately,
you can go to the website or our YouTube channel.

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AM_03: Steady-state Simulations

The following example is part of a series showing some of the features of the Additive
Manufacturing (AM) Module and the AM Calculator.

In this example steady-state simulations are performed for IN625 with different conditions i.e.

i. without fluid flow in the melt pool,

ii. with fluid flow in the melt pool due to Marangoni effect, and
iii. using separate material properties for the powder.

and then the results are compared to demonstrate the effects of fluid flow and separate
material properties for the powder on the temperature distribution as well as on the shape of
the melt pool.

For the first two simulations, the same material properties are used for both
powder and solid substrate while for the third simulation no fluid flow is included
in the melt pool.

In steady-state simulations it is assumed that the heat source (laser beam) moves
with a uniform speed relative to the base plate. In this case, the model is solved by
modifying governing equations to a reference frame attached to a moving heat
source. Furthermore, in steady-state mode you can make use of symmetry along
the width of the geometry and solve for only half of the domain.

Project File and License Information

l Folder: Additive Manufacturing
l File name: AM_03_Steady.tcu

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A separate license is required to perform calculations with the Additive

Manufacturing (AM) Module. Without a license you are in Demo Mode where you
can, for example, open and view example set ups, run some examples, add
templates and nodes to the Project window, adjust some Configuration settings,
and preview some functionality on the Visualizations window.

Some examples (AM_01, AM_02, AM_03, and AM_06b) are available to all users.
These examples can be run without an additional Additive Manufacturing license
when you are in DEMO (demonstration) mode. However, the AM Module is not
available with the Educational version of Thermo-Calc. Search the help for
Available Options with the Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module. See "Available
Options" on page 10 for details.

Visualizations
Open the example project file to review the node setup on the Project window and the
associated settings on the Configuration window for each node. For some types of projects,
you can also adjust settings on the Plot Renderer Configuration window to preview results
before performing the simulation. Click Perform Tree to generate plots and tables to see the
results on the Visualizations window.

There is a variety of information shown in the Visualizations window that can be viewed during
configuration and after performing the calculation(s).

l Geometry: View the geometry and adjust parameters visually by changing inputs on the
Configuration window.
l Melt pool and other dynamically changing features can also be visualized and changed.
l Plot results: After completing the set up and performing the calculation, to view the
matching name of the node on tab(s) in the Visualizations window, click a Plot
Renderer node in the Project window or click the tabs individually in the Visualizations
window.

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Results Discussion

Figure 63: A comparison of the melt pool depth for different simulation conditions; (top) without fluid
flow, (middle) with fluid flow in the melt pool and (bottom) with different material properties for the
powder layer. Isocontours show the boundaries of (inner) melt pool and (outer) mushy zone.

The table shows a comparison of the melt pool dimensions for different simulation conditions.

Melt Pool Dimensions (mm)

Simulation set up
Width Depth Length

Without fluid flow 0.156 0.032 0.300

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Melt Pool Dimensions (mm)

Simulation set up
Width Depth Length

With fluid flow 0.188 0.040 0.619

Separate powder material properties 0.250 0.039 1.670

Figure 63 shows the effect of fluid flow on temperature distribution and size of the melt pool
for the given process parameters. A quantitative comparison is also given in the table. It can be
seen that with the addition of fluid flow due to gradient in surface tension (Marangoni effect),
the melt pool tends to increase its dimensions in all three directions. This is because the
negative gradient in surface tension with respect to the temperature creates an outward flow
on the surface of the melt pool which consequently increases the width and length of the melt
pool, as shown in Figure 64.

Figure 64: Vectors showing flow field in the melt pool due to gradient in surface tension. The colours
of the vectors represent the magnitude of the velocity. Surface colormap shows the temperature
distribution.

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Figure 65: (left) Surface colormap of temperature dependent thermal conductivity showing different
values in powder and liquid/solid and (right) the corresponding temperature distribution.

Using separate material properties for powder has a significant effect on both the temperature
distribution and the size of the melt pool. This is because a lower thermal diffusivity in the
powder makes the temperature to diffuse more towards the length of the melt pool hence
causing a significant increase in the length of the melt pool (shown in Figure 65) as compared to
the first two cases. There is also an obvious increase in the width of the melt pool while the
depth of the melt pool is almost the same as with the fluid flow. Furthermore, the maximum
temperature is also highest in the case with separate material properties.

Other Resources

Read more about the Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module on our website
including the details about database compatibility or to watch an introductory
webinar. You can also use the Getting Started Guide to learn about the key
features available.

Many of our Graphical Mode examples have video tutorials, which you can access
in a variety of ways. When in Thermo-Calc, from the menu select Help → Video
Tutorials, or from the main My Project window, click Video Tutorials. Alternately,
you can go to the website or our YouTube channel.

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AM_04: Scheil Transient Steady-state

In this example, three different simulations are performed: Steady-state, Transient Single track,
and Transient Multilayer. Both Transient Single track and Transient Multilayer use Transient
with heat source from Steady-state model to compute time-dependent temperature
distribution in the given geometry. The primary difference between this example and the
previous examples (AM_01 to AM_03) is that, in this case, the material properties data is
retrieved from the Scheil Calculator whereas in the previous examples the material properties
are taken from the preinstalled material library. Furthermore, this example simulates scanning
of two layers of powder where the second layer is spread on the top of the first layer when
scanning of the first layer is completed.

Project File and License Information

l Folder: Additive Manufacturing
l File name: AM_04_Scheil_TransientSS.tcu

Material chosen for this example is Ti-6Al-4V. To run this example requires both
version TCTI5.0 and newer of the TCS Ti/TiAl-based Alloys Database (TCTI) in
addition to a license for the Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module. Some portions
of this example are also covered in the Getting Started Guide on our website.

Visualizations
Open the example project file to review the node setup on the Project window and the
associated settings on the Configuration window for each node. For some types of projects,
you can also adjust settings on the Plot Renderer Configuration window to preview results
before performing the simulation. Click Perform Tree to generate plots and tables to see the
results on the Visualizations window.

When you run (Perform) this example, it takes at least 30 minutes for the
calculations to complete.

There is a variety of information shown in the Visualizations window that can be viewed during
configuration and after performing the calculation(s).

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l Geometry: View the geometry and adjust parameters visually by changing inputs on the
Configuration window.

l Melt pool and other dynamically changing features can also be visualized and changed.

l Plot results: After completing the set up and performing the calculation, to view the
matching name of the node on tab(s) in the Visualizations window, click a Plot
Renderer node in the Project window or click the tabs individually in the Visualizations
window.

Steady-state
The Steady-state calculator of this example computes temperature distribution in a steady state
for the power of 100 W and scanning speed of 600 mm/s. The beam radius in this example is
taken as 100 μm. For the geometry, the steady-state model only needs the height of the solid
substrate as the input, which is taken as 2.0 mm. The solid substrate is covered with a powder
layer of thickness 55 μm. This example also takes into account the effect of fluid flow due to
Marangoni forces inside the melt pool.

Figure 66: Geometry definition for Transient Multilayer. The scanning strategy shows the scanning
pattern on the top most layer.

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Figure 67: Temperature distribution around the melt pool and mushy zone for the Steady-state case.
Velocity vectors representing the fluid flow inside the melt pool can also be seen.

Transient Single Track

Figure 68: 3D Surface colormap showing temperature distribution at the end of single track transient
simulation. The velocity vectors around the heat source show the direction of fluid flow in the melt
pool.

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Figure 69: 2D Plot showing temperature as a function of time from Probe 1 (orange) and Probe 2
(blue) after the single track scan is completed.

Transient Multilayer

Figure 70: Temperature distribution on the top surface of the workpiece during scanning of the first
layer.

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Figure 71: Temperature distribution on the top surface of the workpiece during scanning of the
second layer.

Figure 72: 2D Plot showing temperature as a function of time from Probe 1 after scanning the first
layer.

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Figure 73: 2D Plot showing temperature as a function of time from Probe 2 after scanning the second
layer.

Figure 74: 2D Plot Over Line showing temperature profiles plotted along the lines, parallel to the
width of the geometry placed on the top of the first layer (P1) and the second layer (P2).

Other Resources

Read more about the Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module on our website
including the details about database compatibility or to watch an introductory
webinar. You can also use the Getting Started Guide to learn about the key
features available.

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Many of our Graphical Mode examples have video tutorials, which you can access
in a variety of ways. When in Thermo-Calc, from the menu select Help → Video
Tutorials, or from the main My Project window, click Video Tutorials. Alternately,
you can go to the website or our YouTube channel.

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AM_05: Using AM Calculator Probe Data with the

Diffusion Module (DICTRA)

The microstructure of a hot-work tool steel additively manufactured using laser powder-bed
fusion (L-PBF) is studied in detail by microstructure characterization and computational
thermodynamics and kinetics by C.-Y. Chou et al. [2021Cho].

This example demonstrates the application of adding probes to an AM Calculator and then
using this data via the Thermal Profile that is set up on a connected Diffusion Calculator. The
example also uses a Scheil Calculator to collect some materials data that is then further used
with the AM Calculator prior to using the probe data generated by the AM Calculator.

Project File and License Information

l Folder: Additive Manufacturing
l File name: AM_05_AM_Probe_to_Diffusion.tcu

A separate license is required to perform calculations with the Additive

Manufacturing (AM) Module. This example also requires a license for the Diffusion
Module (DICTRA), plus additional database licenses for the TCS Steel and Fe-alloys
Database (TCFE) (TCFE13 and newer), and the TCS Steels/Fe-Alloys Mobility
Database (MOBFE) (MOBFE8 and newer).

Background
According to the thermodynamics of this steel, δ-ferrite is the solid phase stable at the highest
temperature and would be the first solid phase to form during solidification from a
thermodynamic point of view, see Figure 75.

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Figure 75: Equilibrium property diagram calculated in Thermo-Calc of the tool steel showing δ-ferrite
would be the first solid phase to form during solidification according to equilibrium.

However, the high solidification and cooling rates during the L-PBF process lead to suppression
of δ-ferrite and instead solidification of an austenite phase directly containing a cellular
substructure where the alloying elements have segregated to the inter-cellular regions.

The microsegregation can be predicted by reducing the complex solidification behavior to a

diffusion problem in one dimension enabling comparisons with the measured segregation
profiles quantified at a nanometer scale.

Configuration and Calculation Set Up

For all calculations, the simplified composition Fe-0.35C-4.93Cr-0.45Mn-2.24Mo-0.25Si-0.54V
(mass%) was used with δ-ferrite suspended on the System Definer.

The Additive Manufacturing template was used to first add the System Definer, Scheil
Calculator, AM Calculator, and Plot Renderer to the Project window tree. Additionally, a
Diffusion Calculator was added as a successor to the AM Calculator in order to automatically
import the time-temperature profile from the AM simulation into the diffusion simulation. See
Figure 76 (or refer to the example if you have it open) to see the layout.

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Figure 76: Project tree of the example containing activities from the default Additive Manufacturing
template with additional Diffusion Calculator and Experimental File Reader nodes added, where the
segregation profiles datasets are pulled from the Experimental File Reader.

On the AM Calculator Configuration window, the calculation type Transient with heat source
from Steady-state is selected with a single track scan pattern and a Geometry of 2 mm x 1 mm
x 4 mm (height x width x length). The Base plate temperature is set to 200 °C.

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Additional settings are then made on the Configuration window as follows.

The Double ellipsoidal volume heat source was previously assessed as a function of linear
energy density for a similar material and directly applied to the experimental conditions of a
volumetric energy density of 80 J/mm3. The laser Power is entered at 260 W, Scanning speed
at 900 mm/s, and powder Layer thickness 30 μm. Below is a snapshot of the settings.

A probe was then added in the center of the scan track at a distance of 1.3 mm from the edge.
The Probe Positions can either be entered directly on the Configuration window or click the
Pick coordinate button and then click on the geometry in the Visualizations window to directly
choose the probe point (or points if there is more than one probe added).

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Figure 77: Close up of the probe point added to the geometry for the single track AM simulation.

Figure 78: The full geometry set up for the single track AM simulation with a probe point added to
the middle of the scan. Open the example to better see the set up and to try working within the
window.

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Diffusion Calculations
For the Diffusion Module (DICTRA) solidification calculations using the Diffusion Calculator,
only the liquid to austenite (FCC) transformation was simulated. On the Diffusion Calculator
Configuration window, a Region of 140 nm with liquid and FCC allowed to form at the right
boundary is set.

In the Thermal Profile section, the time temperature from the probe was selected between a
Start time of 5.0E-4 and Simulation time of 8.5.0E-4 s in order to only simulate the
solidification, which can be viewed on the Visualizations window as in Figure 79. Note that the
probes need to be added and then run in the AM Calculator to make this data available in for
this part of the calculation.

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Figure 79: Time temperature profile of the probe in the AM simulation. The green curve show the
part of the profile used during the diffusion simulation with the Diffusion Calculator.

The calculated segregation profiles are finally compared with the STEM-EDS line scans as shown
in Figure 80.

Figure 80: The simulated segregation profile with overlaid experimental STEM-EDS line scans from C.-
Y. Chou et al. [2021Cho].

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Visualizations
Open the example project file to review the node setup on the Project window and the
associated settings on the Configuration window for each node. For some types of projects,
you can also adjust settings on the Plot Renderer Configuration window to preview results
before performing the simulation. Click Perform Tree to generate plots and tables to see the
results on the Visualizations window.

When you run (Perform) this example, it can take over three hours to complete
the calculations.

There is a variety of information shown in the Visualizations window that can be viewed during
configuration and after performing the calculation(s). This example highlights some of these
capabilities:

l Probes: Probes are added to the AM Calculator during the set up either by entering
coordinates or directly adding these to the geometry. See Figure 77 and Figure 78 for
example.
l Thermal Profile: The Diffusion Calculator Thermal Profile settings automatically include
the probe data and you can visualize to help you continue the simulation. See Figure 79.
l Plot results: After completing the set up and performing the calculation, to view the
matching name of the node on tab(s) in the Visualizations window, click a Plot
Renderer node in the Project window or click the tabs individually in the Visualizations
window. See Figure 80.

Reference
[2021Cho] C.-Y. Chou, N. H. Pettersson, A. Durga, F. Zhang, C. Oikonomou, A. Borgenstam, J.
Odqvist, G. Lindwall, Influence of solidification structure on austenite to martensite
transformation in additively manufactured hot-work tool steels. Acta Mater. 215, 117044
(2021).

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Other Resources

Read more about the Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module on our website
including the details about database compatibility or to watch an introductory
webinar. You can also use the Getting Started Guide to learn about the key
features available.

Many of our Graphical Mode examples have video tutorials, which you can access
in a variety of ways. When in Thermo-Calc, from the menu select Help → Video
Tutorials, or from the main My Project window, click Video Tutorials. Alternately,
you can go to the website or our YouTube channel.

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AM_06a: Calibrating a Heat Source for a 316L Steel

This example demonstrates the calibration of the heat source using the Gaussian as well as
Double ellipsoidal heat sources. In this example, experimental data is taken from Hu. et al.
[2019Hu] where the authors performed single-track experiments using the selective laser
melting (SLM) process on 316L stainless steel for varying processing conditions. The power
ranges from 50 W to 100 W while the scanning speed varies from 400 mm/s to 2800 mm/s. The
data imported from [2019Hu], consisting of 21 experimental points, is saved in the project file.

Also see the companion example, "AM_06b: Using the Calibrated Heat Source for a
316L Steel" on page 215.

Project File and License Information

l Folder: Additive Manufacturing
l File name: AM_06a_Calibrate_Heat_Sources_316L.tcu

An Additive Manufacturing Module license is needed to run AM_06a.

Some examples (AM_01, AM_02, AM_03, and AM_06b) are available to all users.
These examples can be run without an additional Additive Manufacturing license
when you are in DEMO (demonstration) mode. However, the AM Module is not
available with the Educational version of Thermo-Calc. Search the help for
Available Options with the Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module. See "Available
Options" on page 10 for details.

Material Properties
l SS316L: Fe-17.0Cr-12.0Ni-2.5Mo-0.03C Mass percent
l Database: TCFE13
l The material properties are precalculated, and stored as a built-in material library with
the Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module.

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AM Calculator Configuration Settings

The AM_06a example contains two AM Calculators, which are renamed to AM Calibration
Gaussian and AM Calibration Double Ellipsoidal.

l AM Calibration Gaussian uses a Gaussian Heat Source with the keyhole model.
l AM Calibration Double Ellipsoidal uses a Double ellipsoidal Heat Source.
l The heat source parameters for both heat sources are calibrated for the given
experimental data.
l For both AM Calculators, the Base plate temperature and the Ambient temperature
use a value of 353 K and the Layer thickness is 10 μm. The rest of the Configuration
settings keep the original defaults.

For AM Calibration Gaussian, all of the 21 experimental points that are imported to the
Experiment Data table are selected to be used in the calibration. This is because, for the
Gaussian heat source with the keyhole model, one wants to obtain a single constant value for
beam radius as well as absorptivity to correctly predict the melt pool size for a range of power
and scanning speed. It is also in order to obtain the best possible value it is good to include as
many experiments as you can to calibrate the heat source parameters.

For this AM Calculator, other settings include:

l Constant (calibrated), which means the absorptivity is not a function of temperature or

angle, and a constant value is calibrated for each experiment.
l The Beam radius is set to Calibrated, which means that both beam radius and
absorptivity are calibrated.
l Calibrate for is set to Width and depth, which means that the experimental values for
both width and depth are used for calibration.

For AM Calibration Double Ellipsoidal, only five (5) experiment points are selected to perform
the calibration. Two experiments are selected from the lower energy density, two from the
higher energy density, and then one experiment is selected in the middle region of the two
extremes.

Visualizations
Open the example project file to review the node setup on the Project window and the
associated settings on the Configuration window for each node. For some types of projects,

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you can also adjust settings on the Plot Renderer Configuration window to preview results
before performing the simulation. Click Perform Tree to generate plots and tables to see the
results on the Visualizations window.

When you run (Perform) this example, it can take about an hour to complete the
calculations.

There is a variety of information shown in the Visualizations window that can be viewed during
configuration and after performing the calculation(s).

See "Visualizing Heat Source Calibrations" on page 157 for an extended overview
of what is available and how to navigate the many options for visualizing the heat
source calibration data.

Calibrated Functions
For AM Calibration Gaussian, a comparison of the melt pool dimensions from the experiments
and calibration simulation is shown in Figure 81.

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Figure 81: A comparison of melt pool dimension for Gaussian heat source calibration. The "Not used"
points shown in the legend are because a checkbox is not selected in the 'Use' column for row 10 on
the Plot Renderer Configuration window.

The resulting calibrated heat source parameters for AM Calibration Gaussian, are shown in
Figure 82.

Figure 82: Calibrated heat source parameters for Gaussian heat source calibration.

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In order to obtain the expressions for Absorptivity and Beam radius, one of the experiments
(Experiment # 10) is not included. This is because Experiment # 10 is an outlier and you can see
that the values for Exp width and Exp depth (hollow square) then the Sim width and Sim depth
(hollow circle) are excluded in Figure 81.

For both Absorptivity and Beam radius the Constant function of P/v is chosen to be saved as a
calibrated heat source. Absorptivity of the material at the printing conditions is usually
unknown in these experiments which is why it is regarded as a fitting parameter. Beam radius,
on the other hand, is most often known, but does not match the definition of beam radius in
the Gaussian heat source model used in the simulation, which is why a different value is
obtained as compared to the one used in the experiment.

Figure 83: A comparison of melt pool dimension for double ellipsoidal heat source calibration.

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Figure 84: Calibrated heat source parameters for double ellipsoidal heat source calibration.

While selecting the functions for heat source parameters for double ellipsoidal, it was seen that
ar, af, and b remained almost unchanged for all the experiments. Therefore the Constant
function of P/v for ar, af, and b is used. For Absorptivity, a Linear function of P/v gave the
best R2 value while for c a Cubic function of P/v gave the best R2 value. One of the
experiments (experiment # 21) was excluded (i.e. the checkbox is deselected) to get a suitable
curve for all functions.

Reference
[2019Hu] Z. Hu, B. Nagarajan, X. Song, R. Huang, W. Zhai, J. Wei, Formation of SS316L Single
Tracks in Micro Selective Laser Melting: Surface, Geometry, and Defects. Adv. Mater. Sci.
Eng. 2019, Article ID 9451406, 1–9 (2019).

Other Resources

Read more about the Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module on our website
including the details about database compatibility or to watch an introductory
webinar. You can also use the Getting Started Guide to learn about the key
features available.

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Many of our Graphical Mode examples have video tutorials, which you can access
in a variety of ways. When in Thermo-Calc, from the menu select Help → Video
Tutorials, or from the main My Project window, click Video Tutorials. Alternately,
you can go to the website or our YouTube channel.

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AM_06b: Using the Calibrated Heat Source for a

316L Steel

This example demonstrates the use of the two calibrated heat sources that are saved in the
example AM_06a. One heat source is of the Gaussian type while the other heat source is
Double ellipsoidal. For both heat sources, expressions are saved as a function of energy density
(P/v) for all heat source parameters as well as the absorptivity. The example consists of four AM
Calculators, two of which use a Gaussian heat source while the other two use a Double
ellipsoidal heat source, and where the processing conditions for all four AM Calculators are
taken from Hu et al [2019Hu].

"AM_06a: Calibrating a Heat Source for a 316L Steel" on page 208

Project File and License Information

l Folder: Additive Manufacturing
l File name: AM_06b_Use_Calibrated_Heat_Sources_316L.tcu

Other than an Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module license, this example does not
require an additional license to run it, although its companion example, AM_06a,
does.

Material Properties
l SS316L: Fe-17.0Cr-12.0Ni-2.5Mo-0.03C Mass percent
l Database: TCFE13
l The material properties are precalculated, and stored as a built-in material library with
the Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module.

Configuration and Calculation Set Up

There are four AM Calculators where all the calculators use the Steady-state simulation type
and the Single point Calculation Type. The purpose of this example is to use the saved heat
sources from AM_06a and then validate the results by comparing the melt pool size from the
simulations with the experimental melt pool dimensions as given in Hu et. al [2019Hu].

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The saved heat sources are selected from the Heat Source list on the AM Calculator, where a
subsection called Users heat sources includes all previously saved heat sources. In the example,
two calculators use the Gaussian - 316L - beam d 15um user-defined heat source, and two use
the Double ellipsoidal - 316L - beam d 15um user-defined heat source. The Base plate
temperature and Ambient temperature is set to 353 K, while the Layer thickness is set to 10
μm.

Visualizations
Open the example project file to review the node setup on the Project window and the
associated settings on the Configuration window for each node. For some types of projects,
you can also adjust settings on the Plot Renderer Configuration window to preview results
before performing the simulation. Click Perform Tree to generate plots and tables to see the
results on the Visualizations window.

When you run (Perform) this example, it takes a few minutes for the calculations
to complete.

There is a variety of information shown in the Visualizations window that can be viewed during
configuration and after performing the calculation(s).

For this example, it is best to open and run this simulation to be able to view all
the different plots and outputs to various tabs on both the various Configuration
windows as well as the Visualizations window.

See "Visualizing Heat Source Calibrations" on page 157 for an extended overview
of what is available and how to navigate the many options for visualizing the heat
source calibration data.

Gaussian Heat Source and Keyhole Model

The different processing conditions are selected to simulate both the conduction mode as well
as the keyhole mode. For Gaussian - 316L - beam d 15 um heat source, with P = 100 W and

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scanning speed = 2800 mm/s, the dominant mode of heat transfer is conduction, which is why a
shallow melt pool is obtained. The results from the simulations are fairly close to the ones from
the experiments, as can be seen in Table 1.

With P = 80 W and scanning speed = 400 mm/s, a keyhole mode is observed in the
experiments. This is also predicted from the simulations as can be seen in Figure 85.

A comparison of the melt pool depth from the simulations and the experiments for the latter
case shows that the calibrated Gaussian heat source with the keyhole model predicts the melt
pool depth with reasonable accuracy. However, it underpredicts the melt pool width. This is
because fluid flow due to Marangoni forces is not included in these simulations, which probably
causes the melt pool to widen in the experiments.

Melt Pool Width Melt Pool Depth

Scanning
Calculator Power
Speed
Name [W] Simulation Experiment Simulation Experiment
[mm/s]
[μm] [μm] [μm] [μm]

AM use
calibrated
100 2800 53.30 47.82 12.93 14.36
Gaussian
P100 u2800

AM use
calibrated
80 400 93.25 105 102.71 106.57
Gaussian P80
u400

Table 1: A comparison of the melt pool dimensions from the simulations and experiments using the
calibrated Gaussian heat source.

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Figure 85: Steady-state temperature distribution around the melt pool for SS316L with P = 80 W and
scanning speed = 400 mm/s using the calibrated Gaussian heat source with the keyhole model. A
keyhole can also be seen formed just below the location of the heat source.

Double Ellipsoidal Heat Source

For the Double ellipsoidal - 316L - beam d 15 um heat source, two different processing
conditions are selected to simulate both the conduction mode as well as the keyhole mode. For
both processing conditions, the prediction of the melt pool size from the simulations is in fairly
good agreement with the results from the experiments as can be seen in Table 2.

The temperature distribution using the calibrated double ellipsoidal heat source with P = 80 W
and scanning speed = 400 mm/s is shown in Figure 86.

Melt Pool Width Melt Pool Depth

Scanning
Calculator Power
Speed
Name [W] Simulation Experiment Simulation Experiment
[mm/s]
[μm] [μm] [μm] [μm]

AM use
calibrated DE 100 1200 65.07 64.34 31.63 29.68
P80 u1200

AM use
calibrated DE 80 400 103.65 105 112.29 106.57
P80 u400

Table 2: A comparison of the melt pool dimensions from the simulations and experiments using the
calibrated double ellipsoidal heat source.

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Figure 86: Steady-state temperature distribution around the melt pool for SS316L with P = 80 W and
scanning speed = 400 mm/s using the calibrated double ellipsoidal heat source.

Reference
[2019Hu] Z. Hu, B. Nagarajan, X. Song, R. Huang, W. Zhai, J. Wei, Formation of SS316L Single
Tracks in Micro Selective Laser Melting: Surface, Geometry, and Defects. Adv. Mater. Sci.
Eng. 2019, Article ID 9451406, 1–9 (2019).

Other Resources

Read more about the Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module on our website
including the details about database compatibility or to watch an introductory
webinar. You can also use the Getting Started Guide to learn about the key
features available.

Many of our Graphical Mode examples have video tutorials, which you can access
in a variety of ways. When in Thermo-Calc, from the menu select Help → Video
Tutorials, or from the main My Project window, click Video Tutorials. Alternately,
you can go to the website or our YouTube channel.

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AM_07: Batch Calculations for an IN718 Alloy

This example shows the use of the AM Calculator with a Steady-state mode and Batch
Calculation Type where it compares calculated and measured melt pool dimensions. The
experimental data are from the 2022 NIST AM-Bench Test Series [2022NIST] where single track
experiments were performed on a IN718 bare plate at different power and scan speeds.

The use of different Plot types in this example include a Parity plot, 3D plot showing the
keyhole, and Printability map.

This example is part of a set using a Steady-state simulation with a Gaussian heat
source, plus the Keyhole model including Fluid flow. These examples collectively
show the use of Batch and Grid calculation types plus various plot types such as
Printability maps, Parity plots, and Melt pool vs energy density. The examples are
numbered AM_07 to AM_09b.

Project File and License Information

l Folder: Additive Manufacturing
l File name: AM_07_Batch_IN718.tcu

This example requires an Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module license.

Some examples (AM_01, AM_02, AM_03, and AM_06b) are available to all users.
These examples can be run without an additional Additive Manufacturing license
when you are in DEMO (demonstration) mode. However, the AM Module is not
available with the Educational version of Thermo-Calc. Search the help for
Available Options with the Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module. See "Available
Options" on page 10 for details.

Configuration and Calculation Set Up

Below highlights the main settings for this example.

The Steady-state simulation is selected and the Fluid flow including Marangoni effect
checkbox is selected.

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The Heat Source is set to Gaussian and uses the Keyhole model. The printers in the
experiments had a beam diameter of 67 μm so the Gaussian Beam radius is set to 33.5 μm. The
Absorptivity is set to 30.0 %.

The IN718 material is selected from the Material Properties library. The material properties are
precalculated and stored as a built-in material Library.

The Batch Calculation Type is used to set up all the conditions from the multiple experiments in
a single calculation. The experimental Power and scan Speed as well as the measured melt pool
Width and Depth were collected in a CSV file and read into the software. This data is then saved
in the project file.

In the Batch Experiment Data table you can see that the power ranges between 245 W to 285 W
and the scan speed ranges between 800 mm/s to 1200 mm/s.

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Visualizations
Open the example project file to review the node setup on the Project window and the
associated settings on the Configuration window for each node. For some types of projects,
you can also adjust settings on the Plot Renderer Configuration window to preview results
before performing the simulation. Click Perform Tree to generate plots and tables to see the
results on the Visualizations window.

When you run (Perform) this example, it takes at least 30 minutes for the
calculations to complete.

There is a wide variety of information shown both in the Visualizations and Plot
Renderer Configuration windows that can be viewed during configuration and
after performing the calculation(s). Not all views, such as the Geometry or
previews, nor all additional output (i.e. plots) are shown in this section and it is
recommended that you open and run the example to review all available options
and results.

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Parity Plot

Figure 87: Parity plot comparing experimental versus calculated melt pool width and depth for all the
experiments. The experiments are single tracks on bare plate IN718 with varied power and scan
speed. The Root Mean Square (RMS) error can also be shown as a dashed line.

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Figure 88: Alternatively, lines for user-defined Absolute or Relative in % error can be shown instead
by selecting these options on the Configuration window.

3D Plot with Surface Colormap

Figure 89: 3D plot showing a keyhole for the second simulation that uses power 285 W and scan
speed 1200 mm/s.

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Figure 90: Selecting the Batch experiment number to display in the Visualizations window for the 3D
plot shown in Figure 89.

"Visualizing Batch Calculations in the AM Module" on page 167

Reference
[2022NIST] National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Additive Manufacturing
Benchmark Test Series (AM-Bench) (2022), (available at https://www.nist.gov/ambench).

Other Resources

Read more about the Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module on our website
including the details about database compatibility or to watch an introductory
webinar. You can also use the Getting Started Guide to learn about the key
features available.

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Many of our Graphical Mode examples have video tutorials, which you can access
in a variety of ways. When in Thermo-Calc, from the menu select Help → Video
Tutorials, or from the main My Project window, click Video Tutorials. Alternately,
you can go to the website or our YouTube channel.

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AM_08a: Grid Calculation for a Ti64 Alloy

This example shows the use of the AM Calculator with a Steady-state mode and Grid
Calculation Type where it compares the calculated and measured printability map. Printability
maps are also known as process maps. The experiments are from Dilip et. al [2017Dil] where
they performed single track experiments with the alloy Ti64 at different power and scan
speeds. They also printed cubes and performed measurements of the porosity amounts for
each experimental condition.

The use of different Plot types in this example include a Printability map and a 3D plot with
surface colormap.

This example is part of a set using a Steady-state simulation with a Gaussian heat
source, plus the Keyhole model including Fluid flow. These examples collectively
show the use of Batch and Grid calculation types plus various plot types such as
Printability maps, Parity plots, and Melt pool vs energy density. The examples are
numbered AM_07 to AM_09b.

Project File and License Information

l Folder: Additive Manufacturing
l File name: AM_08a_Printability_Map_Ti64.tcu

This example requires an Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module license.

Configuration and Calculation Set Up

Below highlights some of the settings for this example to compare with experimental data of
Ti64.

This example builds on the previous one (AM_07) and it is recommended to

review this and to open the example file to locate and follow along for the settings
described here and found on the Configuration window.

The Steady-state calculation includes Fluid flow.

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The Heat Source is set to Gaussian and uses the Keyhole model. The printers in the
experiments had a beam diameter of 100 μm so the Gaussian Beam radius is set to 50 μm. The
Absorptivity is set to 27 %.

The Ti6Al4V material is selected from the Material Properties library. The material properties
are precalculated and stored as a built-in material Library.

The Grid Calculation Type is used to cover all the conditions from the experiments in a single
calculation. The Power ranges between 50-200 W and the Scanning speed ranges between
500-1200 mm/s.

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Visualizations
Open the example project file to review the node setup on the Project window and the
associated settings on the Configuration window for each node. For some types of projects,
you can also adjust settings on the Plot Renderer Configuration window to preview results
before performing the simulation. Click Perform Tree to generate plots and tables to see the
results on the Visualizations window.

When you run (Perform) this example, it can take around two hours to complete
the calculations.

There is a wide variety of information shown both in the Visualizations and Plot
Renderer Configuration windows that can be viewed during configuration and
after performing the calculation(s). Not all views, such as the Geometry or
previews, nor all additional output (i.e. plots) are shown in this section and it is
recommended that you open and run the example to review all available options
and results.

Plot Renderer Configuration Window

The combined results from the Grid calculation can be viewed under the matching Grid tab on
the Plot Renderer Configuration window where it is set to use the Printability map plot type. In
this example, the Plot Renderer node is renamed to Printability map in the Project window.

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The experimental value of 30 μm powder thickness (Layer thickness) and 100 μm for the Hatch
distance seems to be too big to produce dense builds according to this lack of fusion criteria.
Full density can then in principle only be achieved by melting the regions between tracks by
shifting the layers printed on top so the full depth of the melt pool covers unmelted regions.

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Next each Function is defined and limits were adjusted to match the experimental regions of
keyholing and lack of fusion porosity.

l The keyholing limit (Keyholing: Wk/Dk) is slightly increased from 1.0 to 1.1.
l The Lack of fusion: D/t is kept at the default of 1.0.
l The lack of fusion at half of the hatch distance (Lack of fusion hatch: Dh/t) had to be
reduced to from 1.0 to 0.45 in order to not extend the lack of fusion region to
experimental regions where little porosity was found.

Printability Map and 3D Plot

There is a video tutorial about the Printability Map on our website and on our
YouTube channel. It is also included in the Additive Manufacturing Module
YouTube playlist.

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Figure 91: The calculated printability map for Ti64 showing the regions for keyholing porosity (upper
left) and lack of fusion porosity to the lower right. The labels show the measured amount of porosity.
Labels in red show regions with severe amounts of porosity and labels in black/green show regions
with little or no defects.

Figure 92: 3D plot showing a keyhole for the simulation that uses power 200 W and scan speed 1200
mm/s.

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Reference
[2017Dil] J. J. S. Dilip, S. Zhang, C. Teng, K. Zeng, C. Robinson, D. Pal, B. Stucker, Influence of
processing parameters on the evolution of melt pool, porosity, and microstructures in Ti-
6Al-4V alloy parts fabricated by selective laser melting. Prog. Addit. Manuf. 2, 157–167
(2017).

Other Resources

Read more about the Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module on our website
including the details about database compatibility or to watch an introductory
webinar. You can also use the Getting Started Guide to learn about the key
features available.

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AM_08b: Batch Calculations for a Ti64 Alloy

This example shows the use of the AM Calculator with a Steady-state mode and Batch
Calculation Type where it compares the calculated and measured melt pool dimensions. The
experiments are from Dilip et. al [2017Dil] where they performed single track experiments with
the alloy Ti64 at different power and scan speeds.

The use of different Plot types in this example include a Parity plot, Melt pool vs energy
density, 3D plot showing the keyhole, and Printability map.

This example is part of a set using a Steady-state simulation with a Gaussian heat
source, plus the Keyhole model including Fluid flow. These examples collectively
show the use of Batch and Grid calculation types plus various plot types such as
Printability maps, Parity plots, and Melt pool vs energy density. The examples are
numbered AM_07 to AM_09b.

Project File and License Information

l Folder: Additive Manufacturing
l File name: AM_08b_Batch_Ti64.tcu

This example requires an Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module license.

Configuration and Calculation Set Up

Below highlights some of the settings for this example. This example builds on the
previous ones (AM_07 and AM_08a) and it is recommended to review these and
to open the example file to locate and follow along for the settings described here
and found on the Configuration window.

The Steady-state calculation is configured with the Gaussian Heat Source with the Keyhole
model and includes Fluid flow. The printers had a beam diameter of 100 μm so the Gaussian
Beam radius is set to 50 μm. The Absorptivity is set to 27 %.

The Ti6Al4V material is selected from the Material Properties library. The material properties
are precalculated and stored as a built-in material Library.

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The Batch Calculation Type is used to set up all the conditions from the experiments in a single
calculation. The experimental Power and scan Speed as well as the measured melt pool Width
and Depth were collected in a CSV file and read into the software. This data is then saved in the
project file.

In the Batch Experiment Data table (see Visualizing the Batch Calculation Experimental
Data) you can see that the power ranges between 50-195 W and the scan speed ranges
between 500-1200 mm/s.

Visualizations
Open the example project file to review the node setup on the Project window and the
associated settings on the Configuration window for each node. For some types of projects,
you can also adjust settings on the Plot Renderer Configuration window to preview results
before performing the simulation. Click Perform Tree to generate plots and tables to see the
results on the Visualizations window.

When you run (Perform) this example, it takes at least 30 minutes for the
calculations to complete.

There is a wide variety of information shown both in the Visualizations and Plot
Renderer Configuration windows that can be viewed during configuration and
after performing the calculation(s). Not all views, such as the Geometry or
previews, nor all additional output (i.e. plots) are shown in this section and it is
recommended that you open and run the example to review all available options
and results.

Visualizing the Batch Calculation Experimental Data

During the set up of a calculation, the Batch Experiment Data is imported into the
AM Calculator Configuration window, where you can review the data and choose to include or
exclude data points by selecting and deselecting the checkboxes as needed in the Use column
(see Figure 93). At the same time, you can observe the change as this is updated in the
Visualizations window (see Figure 94). Data can also be entered directly into the table.

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Figure 93: The experimental data used for the Batch calculation for the single track experiments of
Ti64 is imported to the AM Calculator table where you can review the data points and include or
exclude as needed using the checkboxes.

Figure 94: The visualization of the experimental melt pool dimensions are shown as a function of the
energy density P/v. You can adjust the selected points in the Batch Experiment Data table and watch
the updates dynamically in this window.

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Parity, Melt Pool, and 3D Plot

Figure 95: Parity plot comparing experimental versus calculated melt pool width and depth for all the
Batch calculations. The experiments are single tracks with Ti64 with varied power and scan speed.

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Figure 96: Plot comparing experimental versus calculated melt pool dimensions for all the Batch
calculations. The experiments are single tracks with Ti64 with varied power and scan speed. The melt
pool width and depth are shown on the Y-axis and the energy density (P/v) on the X-axis.

Figure 97: 3D plot showing a keyhole for the 15th simulation that uses power 195 W and scan speed
1000 mm/s.

"Visualizing Batch Calculations in the AM Module" on page 167

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Reference
[2017Dil] J. J. S. Dilip, S. Zhang, C. Teng, K. Zeng, C. Robinson, D. Pal, B. Stucker, Influence of
processing parameters on the evolution of melt pool, porosity, and microstructures in Ti-
6Al-4V alloy parts fabricated by selective laser melting. Prog. Addit. Manuf. 2, 157–167
(2017).

Other Resources

Read more about the Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module on our website
including the details about database compatibility or to watch an introductory
webinar. You can also use the Getting Started Guide to learn about the key
features available.

Many of our Graphical Mode examples have video tutorials, which you can access
in a variety of ways. When in Thermo-Calc, from the menu select Help → Video
Tutorials, or from the main My Project window, click Video Tutorials. Alternately,
you can go to the website or our YouTube channel.

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AM_09a: Grid Calculation for an SS316L Alloy

This example shows the use of the AM Calculator with a Steady-state mode and Grid
Calculation Type where it compares the calculated and measured printability map. Printability
maps are also known as process maps. The experiments are from Hu et. al [2019Hu] where they
performed single track experiments with the alloy SS316L at different power and scan speeds.

The use of different Plot types in this example include a Printability map and a 3D plot with
surface colormap.

This example is part of a set using a Steady-state simulation with a Gaussian heat
source, plus the Keyhole model including Fluid flow. These examples collectively
show the use of Batch and Grid calculation types plus various plot types such as
Printability maps, Parity plots, and Melt pool vs energy density. The examples are
numbered AM_07 to AM_09b.

Project File and License Information

l Folder: Additive Manufacturing
l File name: AM_09a_Printability_Map_316L.tcu

This example requires an Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module license.

Configuration and Calculation Set Up

Below highlights some of the settings for this example. This example builds on the
previous ones (AM_07, AM_08a, and AM_08b) and it is recommended to review
these and to open the example file to locate and follow along for the settings
described here and found on the Configuration window.

The Steady-state calculation is configured with the Gaussian Heat Source with the Keyhole
model and includes Fluid flow.

The Gaussian Beam radius is set to 22 μm. The Absorptivity is set to 30 % and in the Scanning
Strategy section, the powder Layer thickness is set to 10 μm.

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The SS316L material is selected from the Material Properties library. The material properties
are precalculated and stored as a built-in material Library.

The Grid Calculation Type is used to cover all the conditions from the experiments in a single
calculation. The Power ranges between 40-100 W and the Scanning speed ranges between
400-3000 mm/s.

Visualizations
Open the example project file to review the node setup on the Project window and the
associated settings on the Configuration window for each node. For some types of projects,
you can also adjust settings on the Plot Renderer Configuration window to preview results
before performing the simulation. Click Perform Tree to generate plots and tables to see the
results on the Visualizations window.

When you run (Perform) this example, it can take around two hours to complete
the calculations.

There is a wide variety of information shown both in the Visualizations and Plot
Renderer Configuration windows that can be viewed during configuration and
after performing the calculation(s). Not all views, such as the Geometry or
previews, nor all additional output (i.e. plots) are shown in this section and it is
recommended that you open and run the example to review all available options
and results.

Plot Renderer Configuration Window

The combined results from the Grid calculation can be viewed under the matching Grid tab on
the Plot Renderer Configuration window where it is configured to use the Printability map plot
type. In this example, the Plot Renderer node is renamed to Printability map in the Project
window.

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Next each Function is defined and limits were adjusted to match the experimental regions of
keyholing and lack of fusion porosity.

l The keyholing limit (Keyholing: Wk/Dk) is kept at default 1.0.

l The Lack of fusion: D/t is increased from default of 1.0 to 1.3.
l The experiments were only single-track and the lack of fusion at half of the hatch
distance (Lack of fusion hatch: Dh/t) is kept at default 1.0 and only included together
with the Hatch distance of 35 μm for demonstration purposes.

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Figure 98: The settings for the printability map with the Function limits defined for keyholing, lack of
fusion, and lack of fusion at half of the hatch distance (as described in the text).

Printability Map and 3D Plot

There is a video tutorial about the Printability Map on our website and on our
YouTube channel. It is also included in the Additive Manufacturing Module
YouTube playlist.

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Figure 99: Printability map for 316L showing regions of keyholing and lack-of-fusion. Experimental
information from Hu et. al. [2019Hu] overlaid as coloured labels showing keyhole porosity (K),
conduction mode with lack-of-fusion porosity (C). Green labels showing experiments without defects
for conduction mode (C) and keyhole mode (K).

Figure 100: 3D plot showing a keyhole for the simulation that uses power 100 W and scan speed 400
mm/s.

Reference
[2019Hu] Z. Hu, B. Nagarajan, X. Song, R. Huang, W. Zhai, J. Wei, Formation of SS316L Single
Tracks in Micro Selective Laser Melting: Surface, Geometry, and Defects. Adv. Mater. Sci.
Eng. 2019, 1–9 (2019).

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Other Resources

Read more about the Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module on our website
including the details about database compatibility or to watch an introductory
webinar. You can also use the Getting Started Guide to learn about the key
features available.

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AM_09b: Batch Calculations for an SS316L Alloy

This example shows the use of the AM Calculator with a Steady-state mode and Batch
Calculation Type where it compares the calculated and measured melt pool dimensions. The
experiments are from Hu et. al 2019 where they performed single track experiments with the
alloy SS316L at different power and scan speeds.

The use of different Plot types in this example include a Parity plot, Melt pool vs energy
density, 3D plot showing the keyhole, and Printability map.

This example is part of a set using a Steady-state simulation with a Gaussian heat
source, plus the Keyhole model including Fluid flow. These examples collectively
show the use of Batch and Grid calculation types plus various plot types such as
Printability maps, Parity plots, and Melt pool vs energy density. The examples are
numbered AM_07 to AM_09b.

Project File and License Information

l Folder: Additive Manufacturing
l File name: AM_09b_Batch_316L.tcu

This example requires an Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module license.

Configuration and Calculation Set Up

Below highlights some of the settings for this example. This example builds on the
previous ones (AM_07, AM_08a, AM_08b, and AM_09a) and it is recommended to
review these and to open the example file to locate and follow along for the
settings described here and found on the Configuration window.

The Steady-state calculation is configured with the Gaussian Heat Source with the Keyhole
model and includes Fluid flow.

The Gaussian Beam radius is set to 22 μm. The Absorptivity is set to 30 % and in the Scanning
Strategy section, the powder Layer thickness is set to 10 μm.

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The SS316L material is selected from the Material Properties library.The material properties
are precalculated and stored as a built-in material Library.

The Batch Calculation Type is used to set up all the conditions from the experiments in a single
calculation. The experimental Power and scan Speed as well as the measured melt pool Width
and Depth were collected in a CSV file and read into the software. This data is then saved in the
project file.

In the Batch Experiment Data table the power ranges between 50-100 W and the scan speed
ranges between 400-2800 mm/s.

Visualizations
There is a video tutorial about the Printability Map on our website and on our
YouTube channel. It is also included in the Additive Manufacturing Module
YouTube playlist.

Open the example project file to review the node setup on the Project window and the
associated settings on the Configuration window for each node. For some types of projects,
you can also adjust settings on the Plot Renderer Configuration window to preview results
before performing the simulation. Click Perform Tree to generate plots and tables to see the
results on the Visualizations window.

When you run (Perform) this example, it can take about an hour to complete the
calculations.

There is a wide variety of information shown both in the Visualizations and Plot
Renderer Configuration windows that can be viewed during configuration and
after performing the calculation(s). Not all views, such as the Geometry or
previews, nor all additional output (i.e. plots) are shown in this section and it is
recommended that you open and run the example to review all available options
and results.

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Visualizing the Batch Calculation Experimental Data

During the set up of this calculation, the Batch Experiment Data is imported into the
AM Calculator Configuration window, where you can review the data and choose to include or
exclude data points by selecting and deselecting the checkboxes as needed in the Use column.
At the same time, you can observe the change as this is updated in the Visualizations window.

Figure 101: The experimental data used for the Batch calculation for the single track experiments of
SS316L is imported to the AM Calculator table where you can review the data points and include or
exclude as needed using the checkboxes.

Figure 102: The visualization of the experimental melt pool dimensions are shown as a function of the
energy density P/v. You can adjust the selected points in the Batch Experiment Data table and watch
the updates dynamically in this window.

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Parity, Melt Pool, and 3D Plot

Figure 103: Parity plot comparing experimental versus calculated melt pool width and depth for all
the Batch calculations. The experiments are single tracks with SS316L with varied power and scan
speed.

Figure 104: 3D plot showing a keyhole for the 12th simulation that uses power 60 W and scan speed
800 mm/s.

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Figure 105: Plot comparing experimental versus calculated melt pool dimensions for all the Batch
calculations. The experiments are single tracks with SS316L with varied power and scan speed. The
melt pool width and depth are shown on the Y-axis and the energy density (P/v) on the X-axis.

Figure 106: For the plot, you can choose what to include on the plot, to show width and/or depth by
selecting the relevant checkboxes on the Configuration window.

"Visualizing Batch Calculations in the AM Module" on page 167

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Reference
[2019Hu] Z. Hu, B. Nagarajan, X. Song, R. Huang, W. Zhai, J. Wei, Formation of SS316L Single
Tracks in Micro Selective Laser Melting: Surface, Geometry, and Defects. Adv. Mater. Sci.
Eng. 2019, 1–9 (2019).

Other Resources

Read more about the Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module on our website
including the details about database compatibility or to watch an introductory
webinar. You can also use the Getting Started Guide to learn about the key
features available.

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AM_10: CET Transition in an IN718 Alloy

The example uses a Scheil Calculator, AM Calculator, and the Property Model Calculator with
the Columnar to Equiaxed Transition Property Model to compare calculated CET curves for an
IN718 alloy (from example PM_G_17) with the solidification conditions of the melt pool in the
AM simulation.

For more background about this Property Model, search the Help or the main
Thermo-Calc documentation set for About the Columnar to Equiaxed Transition
(CET) model.

This example is similar to, and based on, example PM_G_17: Columnar to Equiaxed
Transition of an IN718 Alloy. This is available from the Property Models → General
folder.

A Scheil with solute trapping calculation is done first on the Scheil Calculator to generate
thermophysical properties data to the AM Calculator. A steady-state AM simulation is done to
predict the solidification conditions in the melt pool, the solidification rates, and thermal
gradients.

Then using the Property Model Calculator with the Columnar to Equiaxed Transition (CET)
model, the calculated CET curves for an IN718 alloy are fed into the AM + CET node (the
renamed Plot Renderer), where together the data from the AM and Property Model
calculations are combined and overlaid on one plot.

The literature data from Polonsky et al. [2020Pol] are not purely experimental data, but rather
combined with experimental equiaxed evidence and model calculations with numerical values
of thermal gradients, growth velocity as well as tip undercooling. Polonsky et al. estimated tip
undercooling based on a Scheil calculation, which smeared out the composition inhomogeneity
at the dendrite front, hence underestimating the undercooling. Since both tip undercooling and
nucleation site density promotes the formation of equiaxed crystals, an increase in
undercooling in this example calculation leads to a decrease in nucleation site density
compared to the results in [2020Pol] if one were fitting the same set of data.

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Project File and License Information

l Folder: Additive Manufacturing
l File name: AM_10_Columnar_to_Equiaxed_Transition_IN718.tcu

A separate license is required to perform calculations with the Additive

Manufacturing (AM) Module. This example also requires additional database
licenses for the TCS Ni-based Superalloys Database (TCNI) (TCNI12 and newer), and
the TCS Ni-alloys Mobility Database (MOBNI) (MOBNI6 and newer).

Configuration and Calculation Set Up

On the Scheil Calculator (renamed to Scheil with solute trapping) , the Scheil with solute
trapping is used with these specific settings:

l Trans-interface diffusivity: Same for all elements

l Prefactor: 5.0E-9
l Maximum velocity for infinite driving force: 2000 m/s
l Model: Aziz
l Interface driving force: Driving energy

For the AM Calculator (renamed to AM Steady-state), the Steady-state calculation is

configured as a Gaussian Heat Source with the Keyhole model and includes Fluid flow. It also
uses a Single Point calculation with the Calculated Absorptivity.

On the Property Model Calculator (renamed to Columnar to Equiaxed Transition) a One Axis
calculation for the FCC_L12 primary phase is done using the CET parameters entered on the
Configuration window.

The settings on the Property Model Calculator include:

l Interfacial energy: 0.5 J/m2.

l Number of nucleation sites: 4.0E11/m3
l Nucleation undercooling : 4.0 K
l Equiaxed exponent: 3.13

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l Solve for: Thermal gradient

l Equiaxed fractions: 0.01 0.49 0.99

l Solidification rate: log10(v)

Visualizations
Open the example project file to review the node setup on the Project window and the
associated settings on the Configuration window for each node. For some types of projects,
you can also adjust settings on the Plot Renderer Configuration window to preview results
before performing the simulation. Click Perform Tree to generate plots and tables to see the
results on the Visualizations window.

There is a wide variety of information shown both in the Visualizations and Plot
Renderer Configuration windows that can be viewed during configuration and
after performing the calculation(s). Not all views, such as the Geometry or
previews, nor all additional output (i.e. plots) are shown in this section and it is
recommended that you open and run the example to review all available options
and results.

The thermal gradients and solidification rate can be visualized in 2D or 3D. Figure 107 shows
the thermal gradient along the melt pool boundary in a 3D plot. Only the data corresponding to
solidification conditions are shown. The thermal gradients corresponding to melting conditions
are filtered out and only the tail part of the meltpool are shown.

Figure 107: The 3D Plot for the 3D Thermal Gradient Plot Renderer.

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Both the thermal gradients and solidification rates from the melt pool can be visualized at the
same time in a 2D scatter plot where the Plot Renderer tab Thermal Gradient vs Solidification
Rate is selected.

Figure 108: The solidification rate vs thermal gradient is shown on the AM Thermal Gradient
& Solidification Rate Plot Renderer.

Figure 109 is an example of a plot where the results from both the AM simulation and the CET
model for the IN718 thermal gradient vs solidification rate are overlaid on the same plot. The
blue, red, and green lines show the increasing equiaxed fraction from the CET Property Model
and the points show the solidification conditions at the melt pool calculated with the Additive
Manufacturing (AM) Module. When the results are overlaid like this, you can see that nearly all
the points (those below the purple line) exist in a fully columnar region.

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Figure 109: The solidification rate vs the thermal gradient overlaying both plots from the
AM Calculator and Property Model Calculator (via the AM + CET Plot Renderer).

Reference
[2020Pol] A. T. Polonsky, N. Raghavan, M. P. Echlin, M. M. Kirka, R. R. Dehoff, T. M. Pollock, 3D
Characterization of the Columnar-to-Equiaxed Transition in Additively Manufactured Inconel
718, in Superalloys 2020 (2020), pp. 990–1002.

Other Resources

Read more about the Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module on our website
including the details about database compatibility or to watch an introductory
webinar. You can also use the Getting Started Guide to learn about the key
features available.

Many of our Graphical Mode examples have video tutorials, which you can access
in a variety of ways. When in Thermo-Calc, from the menu select Help → Video
Tutorials, or from the main My Project window, click Video Tutorials. Alternately,
you can go to the website or our YouTube channel.

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AM_11: Comparing Single Tracks Printed on Casted

and LPBF Substrates

Bogdonova et al. [2024Bog] performed single track experiments with the alloy Al10SiMg. The
study compared the printing of single tracks on two types of substrates—one fabricated with
traditional casting and the other with laser powder bed fusion (LPBF).

Project File and License Information

l Folder: Additive Manufacturing
l File name: AM_11_Batch_Al10SiMg.tcu

A separate license is required to perform calculations with the Additive

Manufacturing (AM) Module. This example also requires an additional database
license for the TCS Al-based Alloy Database (TCAL) (TCAL9 and newer).

Background
It is well known that the thermal conductivity of the alloy Al10SiMg is drastically reduced in the
as-printed condition when fabricated by LPBF compared to conventionally manufactured
counterparts [2022Gha].

Thermal conductivity in Thermo-Calc is modeled as a temperature- and composition-dependent

property per phase, and the conductivity of the alloy is taken as an average over the stable
phases. The composition of the primary phase can change greatly depending on the fabrication
method where the LPBF method results in rapid solidification and solute trapping of solute alloy
elements.

Thermal conductivity can generally be reduced by different scattering phenomena (pores,

defects, phase interfaces) within the microstructure and can therefore be lower than the
calculated conductivity averaged over the phases.

The electrical resistivity due to phase interface scattering is evaluated as the scattering constant
times sum of the interaction between the volume fraction of all the phases. The default value
for the phase interface scattering constant is found to be 4.0e-8 Ωm for aluminum alloys. The
contribution to thermal conductivity is assumed to be related to that of electrical resistivity,
following the Wiedemann-Franz law.

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The rapid solidification during LPBF generally results in a much finer microstructure compared
to traditional casting. LPBF fabricated Al10SiMg solidifies with a cellular primary FCC structure
and a eutectic structure between the cells [2021Lef]. An increased interface scattering constant
more than 4.0E-8 can be argued given the much finer structure that has a large number of
phase interfaces.

In this example the effect on material properties and melt pool dimensions is compared when
printing single tracks on the two types of substrates. The material properties for the
traditionally cast alloy is calculated using regular Scheil and the default interface scattering
constant of 4.0E-8. The material properties for the LBPF fabricated alloy is calculated using
Scheil with solute trapping and the effect of increasing the interface scattering is shown.

Visualizations
Open the example project file to review the node setup on the Project window and the
associated settings on the Configuration window for each node. For some types of projects,
you can also adjust settings on the Plot Renderer Configuration window to preview results
before performing the simulation. Click Perform Tree to generate plots and tables to see the
results on the Visualizations window.

There is a wide variety of information shown both in the Visualizations and Plot
Renderer Configuration windows that can be viewed during configuration and
after performing the calculation(s). Not all views, such as the Geometry or
previews, nor all additional output (i.e. plots) are shown in this section and it is
recommended that you open and run the example to review all available options
and results.

When you run (Perform) this example, it can take around two hours to complete
the calculations.

Material Properties for the As-cast Substrate Material

The TCS Al-based Alloy Database (TCAL) is selected on the System Definer (renamed to Scheil
As-cast). The as-cast Al10SiMg alloy has the composition of Al-10.8Si-0.3Mg-0.1Cu-0.1Fe.

The Scheil Calculator (renamed to Scheil As-cast) is configured with default settings for AM
with an evaluation of thermophysical properties from 5000 K down to room temperature. The
Calculation type is set to Classic Scheil.

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Material Properties for the LPBF Printed Substrate Material

The TCS Al-based Alloy Database (TCAL) is selected in the System Definer (renamed to Scheil
printed). The LPBF Al10SiMg alloy has almost the same composition (Al-10.8Si-0.3Mg-0.1Cu-
0.2Fe) with only a small difference in Fe content.

The Scheil Calculator (renamed to Scheil Solute-Trapping) is configured with the default
settings for AM with an evaluation of thermophysical properties from 5000 K down to room
temperature. The Calculation type is set to Scheil with solute trapping.

Comparing Material Properties Between the Substrates

Two plots overlay results from the two Scheil Calculators in Figure 110. The Plot Renderer,
renamed to Si in primary FCC, shows the Si content in the primary FCC phase. The classic Scheil
calculation gives less than 1.5 at% Si. The solute trapping simulation results in twice the Si
content with about 3 at% Si in the primary FCC phase. Atom probe experiments for a LPBF
printed Al10SiMg alloy measured 3.08 at% Si in the FCC cell structure for the as-printed
condition [2021Lef].

Figure 110: Silicon content in the primary FCC phase comparing regular (classic) Scheil with Scheil and
solute trapping. The solute trapping almost doubles the Si content in the primary FCC phase.

Figure 111 is another overlaid plot that takes the results from two Scheil Calculator
predecessors to show how the thermal conductivity varies with temperature. The conductivity
for the as-cast substrate (blue line), that uses classic Scheil and the default setting for the phase
interface scattering constant (C = 4.0E-8), naturally gives the highest thermal conductivity.
The red line shows the reduction in conductivity due to solute trapping and the increased Si

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content in the primary phase. The green line shows further reduction in thermal conductivity
due to the increased interface scattering when the scattering constant was increased (C =
1.0E-7).

Figure 111: Thermal conductivity for as-cast substrate and printed substrate. Blue line shows
conductivity for as-cast structure using the default setting for the interface scattering constant (C =
4.0E-8). The red line shows the reduced conductivity due to the solute trapping. Finally, the green line
shows further reduction in thermal conductivity due to increased interface scattering where C = 1.0E-
7.

Batch AM Steady-State Simulations

Two AM Calculators are next set up. These are renamed to As-cast Batch and AM Batch. These
AM batch steady-state simulations are configured with similar settings, except for the interface
scattering and the measured experimental melt pool dimensions that are different for the as-
cast and LPBF fabricated substrates. The interface scattering settings are found on the Material
Properties tab for both AM Calculators:

l The as-cast substrate uses the default interface scattering (C = 4.0E-8).

l The LPBF as-printed substrate uses the increased value for interface scattering (C =
1.0E-7).

The shared settings in the AM Calculator configuration (on the Conditions tab) are:

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l Uses Fluid flow including Marongoni effect and the keyhole model.

l Absorptivity is selected as Calculated and the with prefactor is set to 1.8 times the
calculated value in order to match the experimental melt pool dimensions.

The need to use a large prefactor is probably related to surface oxides and
that the calculated absorptivity is for an oxide free liquid surface. The
stable oxide Al2O3 often forms at the surfaces of Al-alloys where it remains
in solid form to above 2000 °C and evaporates well above 3000 °C.

Figure 112: The settings window for an AM steady-state simulation for the As-cast Batch calculator.
Fluid flow and Gaussian heat source with keyhole model are enabled, plus it uses a calculated
absorptivity with a prefactor set to 1.8.

To reduce total calculation time, for each AM Calculator only 5 of the 12

experiments are selected on the Plot Renderer (click Show Table to see the
details). However, the example still takes about two hours to perform.

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Figure 113: The temperature- and incident angle-dependent absorptivity. Red curve shows the
absorptivity as a function of incident angle at the liquidus temperature, the blue curve shows the
corresponding absorptivity at the evaporation temperature.

Turbulent Flow - Large Eddy Simulations

Al-alloys have in general lower viscosity compared to other metallic alloys (e.g. Ti-, Fe- or Ni-
based alloys). The low viscosity in combination with high fluid flow rates can result in turbulent
flows. This happens in this example for the simulations at the higher energy densities. The
turbulent flow model implemented in the AM simulation is based on Large Eddy Simulations
(LES) where the large-scale motions are represented directly and smaller-scale motions are
modeled. A larger Smagorinsky constant filters more small-scale motions to be modeled. The
example increases the Smagorinsky constant to 0.5. The simulations with the highest energy
densities will otherwise fail to converge with the default value of 0.18.

Figure 114: On the Options tab for the AM Steady-State simulation (As-cast Batch) with an increased
Smagorinsky constant to handle the high turbulent flows.

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The following parity plot examples compare the experimental versus calculated melt pool
dimensions. In general a good trend can be seen for both the simulations with the as-cast and
LPBF fabricated substrates. The experimental melt pools are in general deeper than the
simulated with an increasing error with increasing depth of the melt pool.

Figure 115: 3D plot of melt pool for as-cast substrate where P = 325 W and scanning speed = 600
mm/s.

Figure 116: Parity plot for as-cast substrate when 5/12 experiments are calculated.

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Figure 117: Parity plot for as-cast substrate when all 12 experiments are calculated.

Figure 118: Parity plot for LPBF printed substrate when 5/12 experiments are calculated.

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Figure 119: Parity plot for LPBF printed substrate when all 12 experiments are calculated.

Figure 120: 3D plot of melt pool for LPBF printed substrate where P = 325 W and scanning speed =
1200 mm/s.

References
[2021Lef] W. Lefebvre, G. Rose, P. Delroisse, E. Baustert, F. Cuvilly, A. Simar, Nanoscale periodic
gradients generated by laser powder bed fusion of an AlSi10Mg alloy. Mater. Des. 197,
109264 (2021).

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[2022Gha] A. Ghasemi, E. Fereiduni, M. Balbaa, M. Elbestawi, S. Habibi, Unraveling the low

thermal conductivity of the LPBF fabricated pure Al, AlSi12, and AlSi10Mg alloys through
substrate preheating. Addit. Manuf. 59, 103148 (2022).

[2024Bog] M. Bogdanova, S. Chernyshikhin, A. Zakirov, B. Zotov, L. Fedorenko, S. Belousov, A.

Perepelkina, B. Korneev, M. Lyange, I. Pelevin, I. Iskandarova, E. Dzidziguri, B. Potapkin, A.
Gromov, Mesoscale Simulation of Laser Powder Bed Fusion with an Increased Layer
Thickness for AlSi10Mg Alloy. J. Manuf. Mater. Process. 8, 7 (2024).

Other Resources

Read more about the Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module on our website
including the details about database compatibility or to watch an introductory
webinar. You can also use the Getting Started Guide to learn about the key
features available.

Many of our Graphical Mode examples have video tutorials, which you can access
in a variety of ways. When in Thermo-Calc, from the menu select Help → Video
Tutorials, or from the main My Project window, click Video Tutorials. Alternately,
you can go to the website or our YouTube channel.

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AM_12: Using AM Calculator Probe Data with the

Precipitation Module (TC-PRISMA)

This example demonstrates the coupling of the AM Calculator with the Precipitation Calculator
via probe data from an AM simulation. Both a thermodynamic and mobility database is needed
for the precipitation calculation, so the AM Material Library cannot be used. Instead, a Scheil
Calculator is used to calculate the material properties used in the AM simulation.

The example simulates the incipient melting and re-precipitation of gamma prime in CMSX-4
during Selective Electron Beam Melting (SEBM) during a single pass of the beam. The SEBM
process is simulated using a Gaussian heat source. A transient simulation of a single track is
simulated, with a cooling time of 150 s. The bed and ambient temperature is elevated to 950
°C. The process parameters are taken from Ramsperger et al. [2016aRam].

Project File and License Information

l Folder: Additive Manufacturing
l File name: AM_12_AM_Probe_to_Precipitation.tcu

A separate license is required to perform calculations with the Additive

Manufacturing (AM) Module. This example also requires a license for the
Precipitation Module (TC-PRISMA), plus additional database licenses for the TCS
Ni-based Superalloys Database (TCNI) (TCNI12 and newer), and the TCS Ni-alloys
Mobility Database (MOBNI) (MOBNI6 and newer).

Background
Ramsperger and Körner [2016bRam] demonstrated that it is possible to print single crystal
CMSX-4 components using SLBM with an elevated bed temperature. The main challenge
encountered is fracture during printing. The formation of gamma prime may incur a drop in
ductility that contributes to fracture. Understanding the precipitation kinetics of gamma prime
during 3D printing is important with regards to identifying optimum process parameters, and
determining how best to heat treat the final component.

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Wahlmann et al. [2019Wah] studied gamma prime kinetics in emulated SLBM thermal
conditions, indirectly measuring the size of the gamma prime using X-ray diffraction during
repeated nucleation and dissolution thermal cycles imitating the thermal history of an SLBM
build. Figure 121 shows the calibration of the Precipitation Calculator to capture the measured
kinetics.

Figure 121: A comparison of the indirectly measured gamma prime size evolution during thermal
heat treatment emulated an SLBM process with predictions from the Precipitation Calculator using
the Thermo-Calc Ni-based superalloys databases (TCNI12 and MOBNI6) [2019Wah].

This AM Calculator to Precipitation Calculator example uses the calibrated parameters for
gamma prime kinetics shown in Figure 121. The Precipitation Calculator includes the possibility
for incipient melting of the gamma prime, which is predicted to occur during the first pass of
the electron beam. Incipient melting describes the phenomena where solid-state precipitates
are heated rapidly to a high temperature beyond their solvus temperature. The precipitates
reach a temperature where they melt before the parent matrix phase. The Precipitation
Calculator removes the gamma prime dispersion upon melting.

Configuration and Calculation Set Up

The Additive Manufacturing template was used to first add the System Definer, Scheil
Calculator, AM Calculator, and Plot Renderer to the Project window tree. Additionally, a
Precipitation Calculator was added as a successor to the AM Calculator in order to
automatically import the time-temperature profile from the AM simulation into the
precipitation simulation.

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Open the example to see the Project tree layout and review the settings for each
activity. It is useful to click around in the interface to understand where the
settings are located and configured. This section highlights the relevant settings for
this example.

System Definer
On the System Definer, the nickel-based superalloy CSMX-4 composition was approximated by
Ni-9.8Co-6.4Ta-6.5Cr-6.4W-5.7Al-2.8Re-0.97Ti-0.62Mo-0.086Hf, (mass%). The thermodynamic
(TCNI) and mobility (MOBNI) nickel-based superalloy databases were selected, with the phase
DIS_FCC_A1 included.

You can include or exclude phases from the Phases and Phase Constitution tab on
the System Definer.

AM Calculator
On the AM Calculator Configuration window, the calculation type Transient is selected with a
single track scan pattern and Geometry of 5 mm x 5 mm x 5 mm (height x width x length). The
Base plate temperature and Ambient temperature is set to 950 ℃ .

Additional settings are then made on the Configuration window as follows.

l In the Heat Source section, Gaussian is selected with a Power of 180 W, and a User-
defined Absorptivity of 85 %.
l In the Scanning Strategy section, the Scanning speed is 300 mm/s and the Layer
thickness is 50 μm. A Cooling time of 150 s is included.
l In the Top Boundary Conditions section, the Evaporation checkbox is selected to include
this in the model.
l In the Probe Positions section, a single probe is added to the center of the top surface of
the component, below the powder layer. See the Geometry tab as shown in Figure 122.

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Figure 122: The full geometry set up for the single track AM simulation with a probe point added to
the middle of the scan. Open the example to better see the set up and try working in the
Visualizations window.

Precipitation Calculator
The following highlights the relevant settings to make on the Configuration window for this
example.

On the Options tab:

l Both the Preprocess equilibrium data and Include incipient melting checkboxes are
selected.

On the Conditions tab, under Matrix Phase:

l DIS_FCC_A1 is selected.

Also see "Selecting the Disordered Phase as a Matrix Phase" in the

Precipitation Module User Guide, or search for this in the help.

l Click Show Details, then for Mobility adjustment > Prefactor, keep Same for all
elements and enter 6.0 for the Prefactor.

On the Conditions tab, under Precipitate Phase:

l FCC_L12#2 is selected.
l Nucleation sites = Bulk
l Interfacial energy = 0.035 J/m2

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l Click Show Details, then:

l Phase energy addition = -55.0 J/mol
l Select the Preexisting size distribution checkbox.
l Click Edit Particle Size Distribution, and note the Compositions entered.

In the Preexisting Particle Size Distribution window you can also adjust other
settings. In this case, the size distribution is approximated by a Weibull distribution
function with a mean radius of 200 nm, an Alpha of 2.0, and a fraction offset of 0.5
Search for "Particle Size Distribution (PSD)" in the Precipitation Module User Guide,
or in the help.

On the Conditions tab, under Calculation Type:

l Temperature unit = Kelvin

l Start time = 0.0
l Simulation time = 150.01 Seconds
l Probes: Probe1
l Condense time-temperature data = None

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Visualizations
Many of our Graphical Mode examples have video tutorials, which you can access
in a variety of ways. When in Thermo-Calc, from the menu select Help → Video
Tutorials, or from the main My Project window, click Video Tutorials. Alternately,
you can go to the website or our YouTube channel.

Open the example project file to review the node setup on the Project window and the
associated settings on the Configuration window for each node. For some types of projects,
you can also adjust settings on the Plot Renderer Configuration window to preview results
before performing the simulation. Click Perform Tree to generate plots and tables to see the
results on the Visualizations window.

There is a variety of information shown in the Visualizations window that can be viewed during
configuration and after performing the calculation(s).

Figure 123 and Figure 124 show the predicted evolution of the precipitate dispersion including
the change in mean radius and volume fraction, respectively. The second Y axis in both figures
shows the temperature. The initial gamma prime size distribution describes the gamma prime
that has formed during the production of the AM powder. It is too large to dissolve during the
rapid heating as the electron beam heats the component, and melts before the matrix. The
gamma prime re-precipitates upon resolidification and cooling below the gamma prime solvus,
and coarsens whilst held at elevated temperature. The incipient melting of the initial size
distribution is clearly evident.

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Figure 123: The mean radius and temperature as a function of temperature, with the mean radius on
the left axis, and the temperature on the right axis.

Figure 124: The volume fraction and temperature as a function of temperature, with the volume
fraction on the left axis, and the temperature on the right axis.

The gamma prime distribution just prior to incipient melting is observed at 0.004 s. It has not
dissolved significantly during the rapid heating as the electron beam passes. At 1 s the material
has solidified and cooled to a temperature where gamma prime has nucleated and grown. The
size distribution at the end of the simulation is shown at 150.1 s. Figure 125 shows the size
distributions at these times during the single track AM simulation.

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Figure 125: The size distributions of gamma prime at key points during the simulation.

References
[2016aRam] M. Ramsperger, R. F. Singer, C. Körner, Microstructure of the Nickel-Base
Superalloy CMSX-4 Fabricated by Selective Electron Beam Melting. Metall. Mater. Trans. A
47, 1469–1480 (2016).

[2016bRam] M. Ramsperger, C. Körner, “Selective Electron Beam Melting of the Single

Crystalline Nickel-Base Superalloy CMSX-4®: From Columnar Grains to a Single Crystal” in
Superalloys 2016 (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, NJ, USA, 2016), pp. 341–349.

[2019Wah] B. Wahlmann, F. Galgon, A. Stark, S. Gayer, N. Schell, P. Staron, C. Körner, Growth

and coarsening kinetics of gamma prime precipitates in CMSX-4 under simulated additive
manufacturing conditions. Acta Mater. 180, 84–96 (2019).

Other Resources

Read more about the Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module on our website
including the details about database compatibility or to watch an introductory
webinar. You can also use the Getting Started Guide to learn about the key
features available.

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