Melting, fusion and solidification behaviors of Ti-6Al-4V alloy in selective laser melting at different scanning speeds (original) (raw)

2020, Rapid Prototyping Journal

Purpose Melting, fusion and solidification are the principal mechanisms used in selective laser melting to produce a product. Several thermal phenomena occur during the fabrication process, such as powder melting, melt pool formation, mixing of materials (fusion), rapid solidification, re-melting, high thermal gradient, reheating and cooling. These phenomena result in several types of pores, defects, irregular surfaces, bending and residual stress. This paper aims to focus on the physical behaviors of Ti-6Al-4V alloy at several scanning speeds and their effect on porosity and metallurgical properties. Design/methodology/approach Seven scanning speeds between 150 and 1000 mm/s were chosen to observe the occurrence of different pores, defects and microstructural formations and their effect on hardness and tensile properties. Findings The various mentioned malformations occur due to the results of possible uncertainties during the melting-fusion-solidification process. Size, shape, nu...