Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of As-Built Ti-6Al-4V and Ti-6Al-7Nb Alloys Produced by Selective Laser Melting Technology

Additive manufacturing from metal powders using selective laser melting technology is gaining increasing interest in various industries. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of changes in process parameter values on the relative density, microstructure and mechanical properties of Ti-6Al-4V and Ti-6Al-7Nb alloy samples. The experiment was conducted in response to a noticeable gap in the research on the manufacturability of the Ti-6Al-7Nb alloy in SLM technology. This topic is significant given the growing interest in this alloy for biomedical applications. The results of this study indicate that by properly selecting the volumetric energy density (VED), the relative density of the material produced and the surface roughness of the components can be effectively influenced. Microstructural analyses revealed similar patterns in both alloys manufactured under similar conditions, characterized by columnar β phase grains with needle-like α' phases. Increasing the VED increased the tensile strength of the fabricated Ti-6Al-4V alloy components, while the opposite effect was observed for components fabricated from Ti-6Al-7Nb alloy. At the same time, Ti-6Al-7Nb alloy parts featured higher elongation values, which is desirable from the perspective of biomedical applications.