Printability, mechanical and degradation properties of Mg-(x)Zn elemental powder mixes processed by laser powder bed fusion

Abstract

• Printability of binary Mg-Zn alloys with 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 5 and 8 wt% were investigated by laser powder bed fusion. • Density parameter maps for varying laser power and scan speed were recorded for each alloy composition. • Mg0.5 Zn and Mg1Zn possessed the highest density results. • UTS of Mg1Zn was 126 MPa at a strain at failure of 5.7% and Mg0.5 Zn averaged 113 MPa at 5.4%, but showed better reproducibility. • Mg0.5 Zn and Mg1Zn possessed similar degradation behavior but were inferior to a LPBFed WE43 reference.