Track trajectory, molten pool and defect characterization in NiTi single-track selective laser melting (SLM) experiments

In order to explore the law of selective laser melting (SLM) forming of Nitinol alloy, and obtain high quality additive manufacturing parameters of Nitinol alloy, a series of single-track SLM experiments on Nitinol alloy were conducted under different combined parameters of laser power and scanning speed. The effects of laser power, scanning speed and linear energy density on track forming, molten pool evolution and pore formation were systematically discussed by characterizing the track trajectory, molten pool morphology, dimensions and defects of the molten pool, and the ideal process parameters were obtained. The experimental results revealed that the average track width and width uniformity decreased with the increase of the scanning speed, the spheroidization phenomenon and height fluctuation became more pronounced, and the phenomena of necking, subsection and interruption increased significantly at the fixed laser power. Under the fixed scanning speed, the width, height and width uniformity of the molten track gradually increased with the increase of the laser power, and the phenomena of spheroidization, subsection and interruption gradually reduced. Moreover, the upper zone of the molten pool is shaped like an inverted bowl, and the lower zone is mainly divided into five categories, which are lack of fusion, shallow bowl shape, deep bowl shape, keyhole shape and deeper keyhole shape under different process parameters. The defects of the molten pool mainly include lack of fusion and trapped gas. An ideal molten pool without defects can be obtained under the parameter conditions of 100–150W laser power and 100–200 mm/s spanning speed.