Additive Manufactured A357.0 Samples Using the Laser Powder Bed Fusion Technique: Shear and Tensile Performance

New aluminium alloys, with lower silicon content than in the first-developed formulations, have recently been introduced in the field of Additive Manufacturing and are dedicated to automotive applications. As they are relatively new, mechanical characterization under standard protocols of the automotive field are of utmost scientific as well as industrial relevance. The paper addresses the mechanical properties and microstructure of A357.0. Static tensile and shear tests of samples built by Laser Powder Bed Fusion, with different orientations in the machine work volume, have been performed. The aim was to identify possible anisotropy in the tensile and shear behaviour of this innovative alloy. Particularly for shear, the effect of adhesion between the layers onto shear strength was studied. Results analysis, by means of statistical tools, allows for the affirmation that no tensile modulus or yield strength anisotropy is observed. Instead, a small (yet statistically significant) increase in both shear- and tensile strength and a decrease in ductility are obtained as the direction of the specimens approaches the growth direction. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) observation of the failure mechanisms assisted in the interpretation of the results, by relating different failure modes to the relative orientation of loads versus the directions of inherent anisotropy in Laser Powder Bed Fusion processes.