Direct Metal Laser Sintering of the Ti6Al4V Alloy from a Powder Blend

Additively manufactured Ti6Al4V parts have only seen major application in industries such as the aerospace and medical industries, mainly due to the high cost of production of the feedstock powder. In this article, the feasibility of in situ alloying a powder blend of elemental Ti and an Al-V master alloy to produce the Ti6Al4V alloy through direct metal laser sintering is presented and discussed. In a previous study, single track formation from this powder blend was studied and analyzed to determine the optimum principal process parameters suitable for this powder blend. These process parameters were employed in this study to produce single and double layers where the effects of varied hatch distance and the employment of a rescanning strategy on the surface morphology and alloy homogeneity were investigated. Lastly, in the current study, three-dimensional specimens were produced and analyzed to determine the alloy microstructure, homogeneity, part porosity and mechanical properties. The analyses revealed that a Ti6Al4V alloy with a density of up to 99.9% and corresponding tensile strength and ductility values of up to 942.9 MPa and 17% was produced. Furthermore, a minimum Al evaporation value of 7.2% was recorded. Therefore, in situ alloying can indeed be employed to produce high-quality Ti6Al4V parts from an elemental Ti and an Al-V master alloy powder blend.