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Abstract The metal additive manufacturing industry is actively developing instruments and strategies to enable higher productivity, optimal build quality, and controllable as-built microstructure. A beam controlling technique, laser oscillation has shown potential in all these aspects in laser welding; however, few attempts have been made to understand the underlying physics of the oscillating keyholes/melt pools which are the prerequisites for these strategies to become a useful tool for laser-based additive manufacturing processes. Here, to address this gap, we utilized a synchrotron-based X-ray operando technique to image the dynamic keyhole oscillation in Ti-6Al-4V using a miniature powder bed fusion setup. We found good agreement between the experimental observations and simulations performed with a validated Lattice Boltzmann multiphysics model. The study revealed the continuous and periodic fluctuations in the characteristic keyhole parameters that are unique to the oscillating laser beam processing and responsible for the chevron pattern formation at solidification. In particular, despite the intrinsic longer-range fluctuation, the oscillating technique displayed potential for reducing keyhole instability, mitigating porosity formation, and altering surface topology. These insights on the oscillating keyhole dynamics can be useful for the future development and application of this technique. 

The Binder Jetting (BJ) process is capable of producing parts at high speeds from a variety of materials, but performance is limited by defects in the final parts. An improved understanding of fundamental phenomena in the printing process is needed to understand the source of these defects. This work presents initial findings from high-speed imaging of the BJ process using synchrotron X-rays. High-speed X-ray imaging allows for direct observation of key physical mechanisms in the printing process that may introduce defects including binder droplet impact on the powder bed, powder rearrangement below and above the powder bed surface, and balling formation. Testing was performed with multiple materials and droplet spacings to compare the effect on observed phenomena. Multiple lines were printed on packed and loose powder beds to further explore factors that affect defect formation and to better simulate industrially relevant conditions.