Role of laser remelting and heat treatment in mechanical and tribological properties of selective laser melted Ti6Al4V alloy

Abstract

The reliability and quality of additively manufactured parts are questionable. The present study aimed to improve the surface quality and mechanical and tribological properties of a Ti6Al4V alloy manufactured using selective laser melting (SLM). The effects of the laser remelting on its surface topology, mechanical properties, and sliding wear in a ball-on-plate configuration with a ball either above or below the plate were investigated systematically. The influence of the laser remelting approach on the anisotropy of the mechanical and tribological properties was compared with that of the heat treatment approach. The surface quality and high cycle fatigue strength improved with an increase in the number of melting steps. The compressive and impact strengths also increased with an increase in the number of melting steps. The wear resistance in both configurations was higher in the remelted samples than in the samples after SLM. The results confirmed that laser remelting, as an affordable approach, could significantly improve the reliability of parts fabricated by the SLM process.