Modification of the Surface Topography of Additive Materials under Ar+ Ion Irradiation

Additive manufacturing (AM) is a modern developing group of technologies based not on the removal of material, but on the layer-by-layer growth and synthesis of an object according to a CAD (Computer-Aided Design) model. The main disadvantages of objects manufactured using AM technologies are a high degree of porosity and surface roughness. This work examines the possibility of modifying the surface of additive materials Ti6Al4V and AlSi10Mg using irradiation with Ar+ ions with energies in the range from 2 to 9 keV. Using SEM, the surface topography was obtained before and after irradiation and mechanical polishing. A reduction in surface porosity and roughness was demonstrated, as well as the influence of beam energy on the final surface topography.