Additive Manufacturing of Ti3AlC2/TiC and Ti3AlC2/SiC Ceramics Using the Fused Granules Fabrication Technique

Abstract

In this work, SiC–Ti3AlC2 and TiC–Ti3AlC2 composites produced by additive manufacturing are investigated. The issue of obtaining ceramic materials using additive manufacturing technologies is currently relevant, since not many modern additive technologies are suitable for working with ceramic materials. The study is devoted to the optimization of additive manufacturing parameters, as well as the study of the structure and properties of the resulting objects. The fused granules fabrication (FGF) method as one kind of the material extrusion additive manufacturing (MEAM) technology is used to obtain composite samples. The main advantage of the FGF technology is the ability to obtain high-quality samples from ceramic materials by additive manufacturing. Composites with different ratios between components and different powder/polymer ratios are investigated. The technological features of the additive formation of composites are investigated, as well as their structure and properties. The optimal sintering temperature to form the best mechanical properties for both composites is 1300 °C. The composites have a regulatable porosity. Ti3AlC2 content, sintering temperature, and polymer content in the feedstock are the main parameters that regulate the porosity of FGF samples.