Study on the flow properties of Ti-6Al-4V powders prepared by radio-frequency plasma spheroidization

Wei, Wen-Hou; Wang, Lin-zhi; Tian, Chen; Duan, Xuan‐Ming; Li, Wei

doi:10.1016/j.apt.2017.06.025

Cited by 56 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…The quality and properties of the feedstock materials depend a lot on the manufacturing process, which, in the case of metal powders for LPBF, can be quite varied [18,[62][63][64][65][66][67], ranging from rotary, water, and gas atomization [66][67][68][69][70] to the plasma rotating electrode process (PREP) [71,72]. Furthermore, in order to make the additive manufacturing process more cost-efficient and to reduce the price of the feedstock, the reuse of scraps and chips produced by traditional manufacturing of expensive metals and alloys (i.e., Ti-6Al-4V, aluminum) was proposed via spheroidization [73,74] and milling [75,76].…”

Section: Powder Feedstock Featuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Material Reuse in Laser Powder Bed Fusion: Side Effects of the Laser—Metal Powder Interaction

Santecchia

Spigarelli

Cabibbo

2020

Metals

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Metal additive manufacturing is changing the way in which engineers and designers model the production of three-dimensional (3D) objects, with rapid growth seen in recent years. Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is the most used metal additive manufacturing technique, and it is based on the efficient interaction between a high-energy laser and a metal powder feedstock. To make LPBF more cost-efficient and environmentally friendly, it is of paramount importance to recycle (reuse) the unfused powder from a build job. However, since the laser-powder interaction involves complex physics phenomena and generates by-products which might affect the integrity of the feedstock and the final build part, a better understanding of the overall process should be attained. The present review paper is focused on the clarification of the interaction between laser and metal powder, with a strong focus on its side effects. Figure 1. Schematics of the laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) equipment. Adapted from Reference [9] with permission from Elsevier.While the market and the applications of laser powder bed fusion continuously and impressively grew in recent years, there is a common view across users and researchers concerning the repeatability of the process in terms of chemical composition and mechanical properties of the final parts, which are of paramount importance when challenging environmental or testing conditions are considered [10][11][12][13][14][15][16].The most typical approach to study the microstructural and mechanical properties of parts built by LPBF is to compare them with castings of the same alloy or, rather, the corresponding alloy since the starting material is metal powder rather than a fuse. However, in some existing alloys designed for cast and wrought parts, laser additive manufacturing processing results in cracking or other microstructure deficiencies [11,12,16,17]. It is worth noting that LPBF has more similarities with laser welding rather than casting, since the two laser-based techniques have some common features (i.e., melt-pool formation, moving heat source) [18]. However, process parameters are, in general, quite different in terms of laser power and scan speed, and the laser-matter interaction is much more complicated in LPBF processes, since the powder feedstock is inherently unstable and the solidified material undergoes multiple thermal cycles corresponding to the fusion of subsequent layers during the additive process [19][20][21][22]. Furthermore, owing to the similarities with welding and to the complicated interaction between laser and metal particles, when comparing laser powder bed fusion with other metal forming processes, it is evident that the range of processable alloys is very limited and the number of high-productivity commercially available alloys is even smaller [23]. One of the reasons behind this is that the level of metal powder sensitivity to the laser action during LPBF is not yet fully understood, despite the efforts of the scientific community to uncover it [24][25][26][27], and ...

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Section: Powder Feedstock Featuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Material Reuse in Laser Powder Bed Fusion: Side Effects of the Laser—Metal Powder Interaction

Santecchia

Spigarelli

Cabibbo

2020

Metals

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“…Furthermore, a comparison between the fine and coarse powders for both spherical and irregular powders shows that the fine powders are more cohesive at 0.27 to 0.38 kPa than the coarse powders at 0.19 to 0.2 kPa, respectively. Low cohesion is mostly beneficial in powder bed additive manufacturing to enhance the scraping action used to spread the powders, making the spherical powders better suited for that process [20]. The extent of the benefit of low cohesion in powder bed additive manufacturing increases when coarse powders are used compared to finer powders.…”

Section: Shear Testmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spheroidisation of Stainless Steel Powder for Additive Manufacturing

Chikosha

Tshabalala

Bissett

et al. 2021

Metals

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In additive manufacturing, powder characteristics play an important role in terms of flowability and densification, which can be improved by the use of spherical powders. In this study, irregular powder was spheroidised by plasma treatment, and the powder properties were measured. Powder characterisation was conducted to determine the morphology, particle size and distribution as well as the flowability. Spherical AISI 304 stainless steel powders were produced by plasma spheroidization, and the efficiency of the spheroidisation process was evaluated. The spheroidisation process resulted in 93% efficiency with a decrease of fine particles (<63 µm) by 22%, while the all the flowability parameters of the powder improved significantly.

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“…After the desired part is fabricated, the used powder can either be discarded or recycled. Due to the high cost of metallic powders, specifically Ti6Al4V, powder recycling could be a viable option for cost reduction (Daraban et When dealing with Ti6Al4V powder, it must be kept in mind that the powder is more susceptible to oxygen pickup than other metals and, therefore, can only be used a few times before the powder falls out-of-specification due to the increase in oxygen content (Wei et al 2017). To increase reusability of Ti6Al4V powder, it is important to identify qualified techniques to recondition out-ofspecification powder for use in PBF systems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Nkhasi

Preez

Bissett

2022

SATNT

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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.

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Study on the flow properties of Ti-6Al-4V powders prepared by radio-frequency plasma spheroidization

Cited by 56 publications

References 26 publications

Material Reuse in Laser Powder Bed Fusion: Side Effects of the Laser—Metal Powder Interaction

Material Reuse in Laser Powder Bed Fusion: Side Effects of the Laser—Metal Powder Interaction

Spheroidisation of Stainless Steel Powder for Additive Manufacturing

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

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