Additive Manufacturing of Non-ferrous Metals

Abstract

AbstractNon-ferrous metals such as titanium (Ti), nickel (Ni), cobalt (Co), aluminum (Al), copper (Cu) and their alloys have many advantages compared to ferrous metals due to their low density, high corrosion resistance and high strength. Ti and its alloys are mostly used in engine applications such as rotors, compressor blades, and hydraulic systems. Ni and its alloys are frequently preferred in areas such as transmission shafts and turbine blades due to corrosion resistance and magnetic properties. Although cobalt and its alloys are used in cutting and piercing equipment, especially due to their high hardness, they have also used in the fabrication of biomaterials, hard permanent magnets due to biocompatible and their magnetic properties. The excellent corrosion resistance, thermal conductivity and lightness of Al and its alloys compared to ferrous metals make it usable in almost all industrial areas. Copper and copper alloys are one of the main materials used in the fabrication of conductive materials and heat exchangers. For this reason, efforts to produce more qualified and cheaper non-ferrous metals are gaining importance day by day. Traditional methods such as casting, powder metallurgy and injection molding have been used in the fabrication of metal parts. These methods need too many secondary processes such as cutting, machining, grinding, sintering, etc. after production. Moreover, some difficulties are encountered in these processes of non-ferrous metals such as titanium. Additive manufacturing (AM) methods have been developed to overcome these and many challenges. These methods eliminate the disadvantages of methods such as casting methods where scrap loss is experienced and powder metallurgy and / or injection molding methods, where the production of complex and large parts is difficult and combining their advantages in a single method. In this method, engineering parts are made by layering on the layer and layers are formed by the use of powder or wire selectively melted by a laser source followed by cooling. In this regard, in this book chapter, the manufacturability of non-ferrous metals consisting of Ti, Ni, Co, Al, Cu and their alloys, which are frequently used in the industry by AM methods, the application areas of such non-ferrous metals produced by AM methods and the advantages of the products obtained by these methods will be discussed in detail. Moreover, the challenges encountered in the fabrication of the specified non-ferrous metals with AM methods and the procedures that can be done to overcome these difficulties will also be highlighted.KeywordsAdditive manufacturing (AM)Selective laser melting (SLM)Non-ferrous metalsTitaniumCobaltAluminumCopperNickel