Effect of Powder Reuse Times on Additive Manufacturing of Ti-6Al-4V by Selective Electron Beam Melting

Abstract

An advantage of the powder-bed-based metal additive manufacturing (AM) processes is that the powder can be reused. The powder reuse or recycling times directly affect the affordability of the additively manufactured parts, especially for the AM of titanium parts. This study examines the influence of powder reuse times on the characteristics of Ti-6Al-4V powder, including powder composition, particle size distribution (PSD), apparent density, tap density, flowability, and particle morphology. In addition, tensile samples were manufactured and evaluated with respect to powder reuse times and sample locations in the powder bed. The following findings were made from reusing the same batch of powder 21 times for AM by selective electron beam melting: (i) the oxygen (O) content increased progressively with increasing reuse times but both the Al content and the V content remained generally stable (a small decrease only); (ii) the powder became less spherical with increasing reuse times and some particles showed noticeable distortion and rough surfaces after being reused 16 times; (iii) the PSD became narrower and few satellite particles were observed after 11 times of reuse; (iv) reused powder showed improved flowability; and (v) reused powder showed no measurable undesired influence on the AM process and the samples exhibited highly consistent tensile properties, irrespective of their locations in the powder bed. The implications of these findings were discussed.