Use of Non-Spherical Hydride-Dehydride (HDH) Powder in Powder Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing

Abstract

There is a growing interest in using recycled materials and economically produced powder in additive manufacturing processes. State-of-the-art powder bed fusion additive manufacturing processes typically use spherical powder that are produced using an atomization process. However, using irregularly shaped Ti-6Al-4V powder from the Hydride-Dehydride (HDH) process is more economical because fewer processing steps are required and it can use recycled material as feedstock. In this work, the use of HDH powder in the electron beam additive manufacturing (EBAM) process is investigated. Deposition parameters for the HDH powder were developed, followed by a detailed study of as-built porosity and microstructure. The powder flow characteristics were also studied, and the as-built part porosity was compared to the parts built using spherical atomized powder. This work demonstrates the successful use of non-spherical HDH powder in the EBAM process.