Abstract
This study focuses on the control of density and grain structure of a superelastic Ti-18Zr-14Nb (at. %) alloy subjected to laser powder bed fusion. It starts with the production and characterization of a Ti-18Zr-14Nb powder feedstock and printing of a series of calibration specimens. These specimens are next subjected to chemical, structural, phase and texture analyses in order to collect experimental data needed to build simulation-driven processing maps in the laser energy density–material build rate coordinates. The results of this study prove that, once calibrated, the simulation-driven processing maps can be used to relate the main LPBF parameters (laser power, scanning speed, hatching distance and layer thickness) to the density and grain structure of the printed material, and the process productivity (build rate). Even though this demonstration is made for a specific material–system combination (TiNbZr & TruPrint 1000), such a process mapping is feasible for any material–system combination and can, therefore, be exploited for the process optimization purposes and for manufacturing of functionally graded materials or parts with intentionally seeded porosity.
Highlights
Over the past decade, additive manufacturing came out on top when selecting a manufacturing technique capable of producing metallic parts with complex geometry [1]
The capacity to control the grain size and the grain aspect ratio could be used to obtain an appropriate balance between the structure features of printed components and the process productivity
If the same powder must be used with another laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) system, these maps must be adjusted by printing a series of calibration specimens similar to those printed in this study
Summary
Additive manufacturing came out on top when selecting a manufacturing technique capable of producing metallic parts with complex geometry [1]. This technology allows an easy scaling from a prototype to a mass-customized product, which is frequently needed in the field of biomedical implants [1,2,3]. Additive manufacturing is especially suited for the manufacture of porous (cellular or lattice) structures, which offer a unique possibility of expanding the effective range of functional properties attainable with convectional materials. A high-power laser follows a certain path, determined by a selected laser scanning strategy and a numerical model of the part, to consolidate the part by fusing powder particles layer-by-layer [5]
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