Manufacturing Technology 2019, 19(2):190-196 | DOI: 10.21062/ujep/268.2019/a/1213-2489/MT/19/2/190

Effect of Powder Recycling in Laser-based Powder Bed Fusion of Ti-6Al-4V

Lucia Denti1, Antonella Sola1, Silvio Defanti1, Corrado Sciancalepore2, Federica Bondioli3
1 Department of Engineering "Enzo Ferrari" (DIEF), University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, via P. Vivarelli 10, 41125 Modena. Italy
2 INSTM, Research Unit of Modena, Department of Engineering Enzo Ferrari (DIEF), University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, via P. Vivarelli 10, 41125 Modena. Italy
3 Department of Applied Science and Technology (DISAT), Polytechnic University of Turin, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, Italy

Additive manufacturing (AM) has shown promise to process parts for end-use applications, however stringent requirements must be fulfilled in terms of reliability and predictability. The expensiveness of raw materials for AM, especially for metal-based Powder Bed Fusion (PBF), brings about the need for a careful recycling of powder, but the effect of powder reuse on both processing conditions and final part performance is still the focus of intensive research in the open literature. Although ASTM F2924-14 specifies the virgin-to-used powder ratio to be introduced to manufacture titanium-6aluminum-4vanadium (Ti-6Al-4V) components by PBF, a deeper understanding of the effect of powder recycling on the mechanical properties of finished parts is expected to foster a more efficient and safe reuse. The present contribution is therefore addressed to investigate the consequence of Ti-6Al-4V powder recycling on the flowability, particle size distribution and morphology of the feedstock material as well as on the density and tensile performance of built parts. In order to quantify the recyclability of powders, a new "average usage time" (AUT) parameter is defined to account for both the real usage time of the powder and the virgin-to-used powder mixing ratio. The new parameter, whose applicability can be readily extended to any kind of feedstock powder, offers a significant contribution to achieve a more consistent and economical recycling of raw materials for PBF processing.

Keywords: Laser-based powder bed fusion; Powder; Recycling; Ti6Al4V; Mechanical properties

Published: April 1, 2019  Show citation

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Denti L, Sola A, Defanti S, Sciancalepore C, Bondioli F. Effect of Powder Recycling in Laser-based Powder Bed Fusion of Ti-6Al-4V. Manufacturing Technology. 2019;19(2):190-196. doi: 10.21062/ujep/268.2019/a/1213-2489/MT/19/2/190.
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