# Fabrication of Mesh Patterns Using a Selective Laser-Melting Process
## 1 Introduction  
Additive manufacturing (AM) technology has become widely used to fabricate functional metal parts in the automobile, aerospace, and medical device industries owing to its versatile process capacity including a complex geometry, high functionality, and free tool usage. It is advantageous for the fabrication of prototypes and various types of small quantity production because users can easily change the shape of a product using a 3D CAD solid model [1; 2; 3; 4]. The selective laser melting (SLM) process is a type of AM process in which a 3D part is built layer by layer by melting metal powder through laser scanning. SLM can be used to build full-density, high-performance, and complex metal parts without the need for dies or tools [5; 6; 7; 8]. When compared with other traditional techniques, laser processing typically does not require mechanical tooling and, therefore, exhibits high flexibility [9; 10; 11; 12; 13; 14; 15]. A laser beam scans each layer to melt powder particles locally and form a melting pool, which is instantaneously solidified as the laser beam moves away. Therefore, it is critical to optimize parameters that influence the mechanical properties of the part, such as the laser power, scan rate, powder layer thickness, beam spot size, and hatch distance task [16; 17; 18; 19]. A metal mesh, widely used in agricultural, industrial, transportation, and machine protection sectors, is a common type of metal screen consisting of parallel rows and intersecting columns [20; 21; 22; 23]. A metal mesh can be made using intersecting wires by typically joining them together through welding or weaving. Although similar in appearance and their applications, a perforated mesh sheet and an expanded mesh sheet are not wire mesh types. Figure 1 shows four different types of metal meshes. As shown in Figure 1a, a welded wire mesh has intersecting rows and columns of parallel wires that are welded together at the intersection [24; 25]. This process typically welds the wires using electric resistance as the heat source. A parallel line of welds is formed through a controlled combination of the pressure, intensity, and duration of the electric current applied to fuse the wires. Although other welding methods can be employed, this is usually the most economical. Once a mesh has reached the desired length, it is cut using a shear, resulting in a flat and rigid welded wire mesh sheet. A woven wire mesh has an array of intersecting wires, similar to a woven cloth [26; 27]. Typically, the wires are woven over and under the perpendicular wires, producing a stable sheet, as shown in Figure 1b. Producing a consistent knitted mesh to exacingly high standards requires a level of technical expertise and experience in the manufacturing and processing of a knitted wire mesh. A woven wire mesh has no welds. Instead, they are fed into a machine similar to a loom, which feeds a straight wire through the chosen weave pattern. The wires are then bent toward the reverse position, and the next straight wire is fed through the pattern. The machine continues this process until the desired dimensions are reached and the completed wire mesh sheet is then cut to the desired size. Wire knitting not only requires the correct machines, cylinder heads, needles, and spools, but also specific knowledge and experience with material science to ensure the performance and quality of the product. As shown in Figure 1c, a perforated mesh sheet is a sheet metal that has been manually or mechanically stamped or punched to create a pattern of holes, slots, or decorative shapes [28; 29]. An expanded mesh sheet is produced in a single piece through the synchronized cutting out and drawing of laminated metal, as shown in Figure 1d. Because this process does not produce any loss of material, the production of an expanded mesh sheet can be important when economics are being considered [30; 31].