Influence of Warm Isostatic Press Process on Mechanical Properties of a Part Fabricated by Metal Material Extrusion Process

Abstract

Material extrusion (ME) using a filament including metal powders has recently attracted considerable attention because it allows the production of metal parts at low cost. However, like other additive manufacturing processes, metal ME suffers from the problem of internal pores. In this study, warm isostatic pressure (WIP)—a post-process used to downsize or remove the pores in polymer ME—was employed in metal ME to improve the mechanical properties of the finished part. It was confirmed experimentally that the tensile strength and the strain at the ultimate tensile strength were increased by WIP. However, from hardness tests, two different results were obtained. On a microscopic scale, there was no change in hardness because the temperature of the WIP process was not high enough to change the microstructure, while on a macroscopic scale, the hardness changed owing to the collapse of the pores within the material under the indenter load. In specimens with relatively large pores, the hardness sensitivity increases with a larger indenter. Finally, factors affecting the WIP process parameters in metal ME were discussed.