**2. Background**

Powder bed Fusion (PBF) or Direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) is an additive manufacturing process to build fully functional rapid metal prototypes and production parts. A selective sintering process is carried on using laser power to melt powder metal particles leading to a complete print of the part by a layer-by-layer process [1]. DMLS can be used to create parts from a variety of metal alloys. This makes it more popular than many other 3D printing techniques that are designed to work with specific metal alloys or polymer-based materials. One big advantage of DMLS is that custom manufactured parts made using this process tend to be free of internal defects and residual stress that typically occur in parts that have been made using more traditional manufacturing methods. This ability to create defect-free parts is critical when parts are to be used in a high-stress environment such as the automotive or aerospace industries.
