Build orientation effect on Ti6Al4V thin-wall topography by electron beam powder bed fusion

Abstract

Additive Manufacturing is a key enabling technology for Industry 4.0 and the Green Deal, allowing more efficient resources exploitation while providing innovative design to critical components. Electron Beam Powder Bed Fusion (EB-PBF) is an edge technology for many sectors, i.e. aerospace, medical, and automotive. The control of the surface finish by surface topography measurements is essential to engineer surface functional properties, whose specifications are application specific. This works investigates the effect of thin-wall orientation and surface inclination on the topography, described by areal field and feature parameters, to provide designers with a useful tool in the early stage of product development and tolerance specification and verification.