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 Manufacturing (AM) Module Help Resources 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.

Overview of the Content

In This Guide

There are Additive Manufacturing (AM) Module Help Resources and Network License Restrictions 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, as well as particular details about other features are discussed in About Heat Source Calibration, About the Keyhole Model, and About the Absorptivity Model, and About the Heat Source Models for example.

Feature overviews are covered in a summary of the Additive Manufacturing Simulation Types as well as the Steady-state Calculation Types and associated About the AM Plot Types, 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 and there are two default Additive Manufacturing Templates you can use to start defining your project. You can also add nodes individually to build 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.

This set of topics specifically includes details about the settings for the AM Calculator and the specialized AM Calculator: Plot Renderer Settings. 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 and then extended with specialized sections Visualizing Heat Source Calibrations and Visualizing Batch Calculations in the AM Module. 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 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.