THE EFFECT OF HEAT TREATMENT ON THE MICROSTRUCTURE AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF TI-6AL-4V PRODUCED BY xBEAM 3D METAL PRINTING

Heat treatment is an important stage of the complete cycle of metallurgical production which allows formation the desired and stable structural phase state ensuring required mechanical properties of the final metal product.

In additive manufacturing the heat treatment has a particular importance for the formation of the final properties, because the 3D printing makes products either of the final shape or near-net-shape, and usually the possibility to control structure and phase composition by deformation is absent or extremely limited.

At the same time, heat treatment cannot provide deep correction of the initial metal structure formed during layer-by-layer deposition or sintering, but can provide some improvement of microstructure and properties. Therefore, the optimal characteristics of the final product manufactured by 3D printing could be realized only by a complex (mutual impact) effect of each 3D printing technology and the post heat treatment.

xBeam 3D Metal Printing has already proven its ability to provide a practically isotropic equiaxed grain macrostructure of 3D printed titanium-based materials due to quite high cooling rates of the deposited added material and good control of thermal conditions in deposition area and around it.

This presentation will show the effect of subsequent heat treatment on the microstructure of Ti-6Al-4V alloy produced by xBeam 3D Metal Printing and possibility of improvement of its mechanical properties.