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Materials Manufacturing Innovation Center

Characterizing Titanium Printed Parts and Powder

This case study focuses on finding the optimal printing parameters in electron beam melting systems to control the size of the melt pool to reduce or eliminate porosity.

Problem

Powder-based printing methods increase porosity in titanium alloys, which reduces the finished parts resistance to fatigue or cyclic strain causing breakage. Scientists wanted to find the optimal printing parameters in electron beam melting (EMB) systems to control the size of the melt pool to reduce or eliminate porosity.

R&D Analysis

Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University used microtomography at the 2-BM X-ray beamline at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory to study five samples and pre-printed powder of the most common titanium alloy, Ti-6Al-4V.The samples were all printed with varying deposition parameters of laser beam power, speed, and spacing.

Result

Printing parameters did significantly impact porosity, but not eliminate it. Printing larger melt pools at lower speeds produces fewer, smaller pores. Results suggest porosity initiates in the powder processing.

Benefit of Working with Argonne

1x15mm samples were scanned in 2-D in 2 minutes to produce 1,500 images at a resolution of thousands of pores at two microns. Industry lab equipment, such as electron microscopy, would have required a much smaller sample volume size, taken hours to scan and would not have provided the depth information.

More Information

Evaluating the Effect of Processing Parameters on Porosity in Electron Beam Melted Ti-6Al-4V via Synchrotron X-ray Microtomography,” The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society, 68:765-771 (2016). DOI: 10.1007/s11837-015-1802-0