Track a recoater crossing a powder bed, a laser scanning alternating hatch lines, and a build piston lowering between layers. Compare nominal volumetric energy density while preserving the actual scan geometry.
• A 3D process cutaway of a recoater, laser hatch scanning and nominal volumetric energy density, with labeled components you can select. • Controls: Laser power (150-350 W), Scan speed (400-1000 mm/s), Powder layer thickness (0.03-0.08 mm), Build layers (2-8 ), Laser enabled. • Live readouts: Current layer; Nominal volumetric energy density; Fused volume estimate; Completed layer height; Delivered laser energy; Build sequence completion. • Three guided experiments (Laser disabled, Faster scan, Thicker powder), a built-in model verification check, a timestamped event log, a trial report and a short knowledge check.
Nominal energy density = power/(scan speed × 0.4 × layer thickness) Per-layer scan length = 40 × 20 = 800 mm; jump time is omitted Fused volume = scanned length × 0.4 × layer thickness One animation second = 0.2 process seconds.
Ideal non-overlapping hatch coverage with instantaneous line-to-line jumps and a one-second recoating interval. Energy density is a comparison metric, not a quality window; absorptivity, melt-pool convection, porosity, residual stress and cooling are not solved. Dimensions, motion and process time are enlarged where stated for explanation. These are educational models, not machine programs or qualified production procedures.
No. Different physics can produce different outcomes at the same nominal value.
No. The model separates spreading and laser exposure.
Ideal non-overlapping hatch coverage with instantaneous line-to-line jumps and a one-second recoating interval. Energy density is a comparison metric, not a quality window; absorptivity, melt-pool convection, porosity, residual stress and cooling are not solved. These are educational models, not machine programs or qualified production procedures.