Comparison of virgin Ti-6Al-4V powders for additive manufacturing

Ti-6Al-4V powders from six different vendors were compared with respect to their microstructures, size-distributions, chemistries, surface appearances, flow behavior, and packing densities. The analysis approaches followed closely ASTM F3049, the standard guide for characterization of additive manufacturing metal powders. Chemistries, including impurity content, agreed well with the standard requirements. Powder particle microstructures revealed acicular alpha prime for all vendors. Measurable differences were observed primarily in the size-distributions and the flow behavior.