Structure and Wet-Sliding Characterization of a Laser Powder Bed Fusion Ti-6Al-4V Biomedical Alloy: Effect of Laser Surface Modification

The effect of laser modification on the structure and wet (Simulated Body Fluid)-sliding behaviour of a Laser Powder Bed Fusion alloy Ti-6Al-4V was studied. The scanning of 400 W fiber laser with a speed of 10 mms –1 led to a surface melting with an increase in hardness (780–820 HV) and 20%-decrease in wear. Under the scanning speeds of 40–60 mms –1 the surface was refined almost without melting to provide a 7–8% increase in hardness/wear resistance accompanied by a decrease in the friction coefficient