Reconditioning of Ti6Al4V powder through an inductively coupled plasma for direct metal laser sintering

Abstract

Ti6Al4V is commonly used in the aerospace, medical and automotive industries due to its high strength-to-weight ratio and excellent corrosion resistance properties. Interstitial impurities in Ti6Al4V powder, particularly oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen and iron, have an impact on mechanical properties. After Ti6Al4V powder has been re-used several times in direct metal laser sintering build processes, it will eventually reach its end of life due to its physical and chemical properties deteriorating out of specification. Such powder can be reconditioned using an inductively coupled plasma system. In this study, the reconditioning of the contaminated powder was done using an inductively coupled plasma system and characterisation of the Ti6Al4V powder was done before and after reconditioning. Conclusions are drawn on the feasibility of utilising an inductively coupled plasma system for reconditioning of contaminated Ti6Al4V powder.