Laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) additive manufacturing (AM) requires the careful selection of laser process parameters for each feedstock material and machine, which is a laborious process. Scaling laws based on the laser power, speed, and spot size; melt pool geometry; and thermophysical properties can potentially reduce this effort by transferring knowledge from one material and/or laser system to another. Laser spot size is one critical parameter that is less well studied for scaling laws compared to laser power and scan speed. Consequently, single track laser scans were generated with a spot size () range of 50 μm to 322 μm and melt pool aspect ratio (depth over spot radius) range from 0.1 to 7.0. These were characterized by in-situ thermography, cross-sectioning, and optical microscopy. Scaling laws from literature were applied and evaluated based on melt pool depth predictions. Scaling laws that contain a minimum of three dimensionless parameters and account for changing absorption between conduction and keyhole mode provide the most accurate melt pool depth predictions (< 35 % difference from experiments), which is comparable to thermal simulation results from literature for a select number of cases.

Double-Sided Incremental Forming (DSIF) is a technology for the rapid, flexible manufacturing of sheet metal parts. DSIF is highly nonlinear, requiring the use of complex finite element (FE) models to optimize and control the process in order to meet geometric accuracy and sheet thinning design criteria. Current FE models do not properly take into account the effects of machine compliance, which reduces their accuracy and hinders their use for optimization and control. The aim of this work is to create a greatly improved FE model of DSIF by taking a novel approach of modeling the aggregate effects of machine and tool compliance. The accuracy of the new model was extensively validated using the local geometry, thickness distribution, principal strains, and forming forces from a funnel experiment. The validated model was used to accurately predict the spatial distribution and time-histories of the equivalent plastic strain, von Mises equivalent stress, stress triaxiality, and Lode angle parameter across and along the sheet metal. The stress state was found to rapidly change through the sheet thickness, from highly compressive between the tools and the sheet, to a mixture of generalized shear and plane strain elsewhere. Moreover, the compressive regions between the two DSIF tools created a constrained deformation zone, which likely aids in prolonging the onset of excessive thinning. This improved FE model can now be used to quantitatively characterize the nonlinear local deformation mechanisms inherent to the DSIF process, thereby providing a solid foundation for future advances in process control.