What is Laser Energy Density

Additive manufacturing (AM) has emerged as the most versatile process in the manufacturing sector. The advantages of AM such as applicability in a wide range of industries, ease of manufacturing, and reduction in waste production have increased its demand over the past decades. Out of the many techniques under AM, direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) is one of the most efficient manufacturing techniques that uses a high-powered laser beam to sinter metal powders in a layer-by-layer fashion. With the current usage of computational modeling, the prediction of microstructure evolution and other thermo-mechanical properties of different materials have been of great advantage to researchers. Along with a detailed classification of AM techniques, this chapter focuses on the use of continuum, phase field, and atomistic modeling under the DMLS process. The results show that multiscale modeling can be advantageous in gaining deeper insight into various phenomena like diffusion and sintering.