Authors:
Nompumelelo Nkosi (1,2), Natasha Sacks (1,2)
1- Department of Industrial Engineering, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
2- DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Strong Materials, South Africa
Abstract:
In this study the effect of build direction on the tensile properties of a Ti6Al4V alloy produced by selective laser melting was investigated. Initial cubes were printed using three different scanning patterns, namely island, meander and bi-directional alternating and rotated at 67⁰, to determine the optimum pattern producing the highest density and hardness. From the initial results all three patterns produced similar densities of >99%, while the meander pattern had the highest average hardness. Tensile test samples were printed in the vertical and horizontal directions in terms of the gauge length respectively, using the three scanning patterns and the ultimate tensile strength, % elongation and Young’s modulus was determined. The microstructure of the samples was studied using scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction and computerized tomography. The tensile samples printed in the horizontal direction generally had better strength properties.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59499/EP235734146