Predicting the Strength of EBAM 3D Printed Ti-6Al-4V from Processing Conditions

Tanya Johnson,Christina Viau Haden,D Gary Harlow,Abbey Peters

doi:10.3390/met12030431

Abstract

In this study, a process-to-property linear regression model was developed to predict the yield and ultimate tensile strengths of as printed Ti-6Al-4V from electron beam additive manufacturing (EBAM). A total of 8 printing conditions such as bead width, wire feed rate, deposition speed were utilized to predict the material properties in three different notional parts produced over a period of several months. It was found that as the precision and variety of processing conditions collected during print improved between prints, so did the predictive ability of the model. In the final print, the model predicted the yield and ultimate strengths of 72 specimens with an R2 correlation of 0.8 and 0.6 for the horizontal and vertical test specimens, respectively. Although the current model indirectly accounted for thermal fluctuations, further improvements to the model’s ability to predict material strength are expected with the addition of thermal data captured in subsequent notional parts.

Highlights

In recent years, Additive Manufacturing (AM) processes have become increasingly commonplace due to the advantages they offer over traditional manufacturing methods
Wire-fed Electron Beam Additive Manufacturing (EBAM) processes have the advantage of high production speeds in addition to the ease of feedstock storage, availability and handling compared to powder-based AM
The main aim of the current study is to provide the methodology needed to determine the yield and ultimate tensile strengths of Ti-6Al-4V printed parts as a function of the process variables at any given location within the build

Summary

Introduction

Additive Manufacturing (AM) processes have become increasingly commonplace due to the advantages they offer over traditional manufacturing methods. One of the most promising AM processes is that of wire-fed Electron Beam Additive Manufacturing (EBAM). This process is similar to electron beam welding and utilizes high-energy electron beams to fuse metal wires together. As with all AM processes, there are issues of residual stresses, occasional internal voids as well as significant material property anisotropy. These are inherent to the printing processes and the thermo-mechanical interactions between layers [3,9,11], they remain some of the most pressing research frontiers for AM to become more widespread

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion