*VCTR
r1, i1, r2, r3
- r1: target volume (mm^3)
- i1: max iterations
- r2: tolerance (multiple of 1/8th the finite-element volume in the simulation)
- r3: max power (W, physical limit of the system)
Application
Using this card in the thermal IN file, solving generates output containing laser power values per vector. This list of values can then be used to generate toolpaths with individualized parameters to ensure the specified melt pool size is adhered to, rather than just specifying a fixed power for the print and waiting for the simulation results or even the actual print.
As opposed to other simulations, this card causes the simulation to be run multiple times, either until the specified volume is achieved over the full process (within tolerance) or the number of maximum iterations has been reached.