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A few weeks ago, I visited Professor Alexander Kaplan at Luleå University of Technology. Originally from Austria, Kaplan has spent more than 20 years at the university working on the physics of lasers, welding, and additive manufacturing (AM).
While reviewing his recent research, I came across a paper from his group on something that sounds almost too basic at first: powder absorbance. The paper, “Absorbance study of powder conditions for laser additive manufacturing,” measured the absorbance of metal powders used in AM across wavelengths from 330 to 1560 nm, spanning ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared light and covering many wavelengths relevant to industrial laser processing.
The study goes beyond the usual discussion of absorption. It is a reminder that in laser powder-bed fusion