CWA 17453:2019

This document provides a mutual international understanding of optimized support structures in the laser beam melting of Al alloys. It provides the missing design guidelines for the choice of adequate support types for different use cases. Therefore, five different support types in total have been chosen and characterized regarding various target figures: Material consumption, removability and tensile strength of the supports themselves, as well as surface influence on and dimensional accuracy of the supported part. Additionally, novel biomimetic support types have been developed and tested for material consumption and removability, showing great potential for further optimization.
Adequate application of supports increases the productivity by preventing build job failures and is one key factor to ensure a reproducible part quality. The novel biomimetic support structures show promising results considering material consumption and removability.