Peritectic titanium alloys for 3D printing

Metal-based additive manufacturing (AM) permits layer-by-layer fabrication of near net-shaped metallic components with complex geometries not achievable using the design constraints of traditional manufacturing. Production savings of titanium-based components by AM are estimated up to 50% owing to the current exorbitant loss of material during machining. Nowadays, most of the titanium alloys for AM are based on conventional compositions still tailored to conventional manufacturing not considering the directional thermal gradient that provokes epitaxial growth during AM. This results in severely textured microstructures associated with anisotropic structural properties usually remaining upon post-AM processing. The present investigations reveal a promising solidification and cooling path for alpha formation not yet exploited, in which alpha does not inherit the usual crystallographic orientation relationship with the parent beta phase. The associated decrease in anisotropy, accompanied by the formation of equiaxed microstructures represents a step forward toward a next generation of titanium alloys for AM.