The Use of Electrode Tools Obtained by Selective Laser Melting to Create Textured Surfaces

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Manufacturing Engineering
• Surface Engineering

Background:

• Textured surfaces offer unique properties for various applications.
• Traditional methods for creating textured surfaces can be complex and costly.
• Additive manufacturing presents a novel approach for fabricating custom tools.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the technological foundations for creating textured surfaces using additive manufactured electrode tools.
• To explore methods for producing textured surfaces and fabricating electrode tools for electrical discharge machining.
• To assess the feasibility of using selective laser melted electrodes for surface texturing.

Main Methods:

• Electrode tool modeling and internal stress analysis during selective laser melting (SLM).
• Fabrication of electrode tools using a Realizer SLM 50 laser machine with Ti6Al4V metal powder.
• Surface texturing experiments conducted on a Smart CNC electrical discharge machine using high-alloy steel workpieces.
• Microscopic evaluation of texturing results and dimensional measurements using an Olympus GX 51 light microscope.

Main Results:

• Successful fabrication of electrode tools via selective laser melting.
• Demonstrated capability of 3D-printed electrodes for surface texturing applications.
• Visual and dimensional analysis confirmed the effectiveness of the texturing process.
• Ti6Al4V metal powder was suitable for creating the electrode tools.

Conclusions:

• Additive manufacturing, specifically SLM, is a viable method for producing electrode tools for surface texturing.
• The developed technological approach allows for the creation of textured surfaces using 3D-printed electrodes.
• Further research can optimize parameters for enhanced texturing precision and efficiency.