Autori: V.Contaldi, P.Corrado, F. Del Re, D. Di Martino, P.Di Petta, B.Palumbo, F.Scherillo, A. Squillace
Rivista: International Journal of Advanced manufacturing Technology  
Anno di Pubblicazione: 2022
Abstract:
Ti-6Al-4V alloy is characterized by having excellent mechanical properties and corrosion resistance combined with low specific weight and biocompatibility This material is ideal for many high-performance engineering applications. It is increasingly used in additive manufacturing (AM) thanks to the possibility to produce very complex light-weight structures, often not achievable with conventional manufacturing techniques, as well as to easily customize products according to specific customer requirements. In powder bed fusion (PBF) processes, only a small percentage of the powder is actually melted and solidified to achieve the final part while most is left after the build. Since the surface morphology and chemistry, the shape and size distribution of the un-melted particles are inevitably modified during the process, and this may affect the resulting propertied of the final products, many companies tend to use virgin powders for AM builds to keep compliance with manufacturing requirements and minimize risk. From both an economic and environmental point of view, it results crucial to develop recycling methods to reuse the metal powder as many times as possible while maintaining compliance with manufacturing standards. In this work, the effect of Ti-6Al-4V powder reuse on the evolution of powder characteristics and mechanical properties of final products additively manufactured is investigated through a systematic approach based on design of experiments.