Morphology, microstructure, and hardness of titanium (Ti-6Al-4V) blocks deposited by wire-feed additive layer manufacturing (ALM)

Additive layer manufacturing offers a potential for time and cost savings, especially for aerospace components made from costly titanium alloys. In this paper, the morphology, microstructure, chemical composition, and hardness of additive manufactured Ti-6Al-4V blocks are investigated and discussed. Blocks (7 beads wide, 7 layers high) were deposited using Ti-6Al-4V wire and a Nd:YAG laser. Two different sets of parameters are used and three different post heat treatment conditions (as-built, 600 degrees C/4 h, 1200 degrees C/2 h) are investigated. The experiments reveal elementary properties of additive manufactured Ti-6Al-4V material in correlation to process parameters and heat treatments, which are discussed comprehensively. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.