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TWI Industrial Member Report Summary 1083/2017
By Roger Fairclough
Background
Selective Laser Melting is a manufacturing process with benefits including CAD to part capability, high process flexibility and the ability to produce fine intricate features with great accuracy and repeatability. One of the inherent disadvantages of the way the SLM process works, however, is that the repeated heating and cooling during the build cycle creates high temperature gradients which can lead to the development of high internal (residual) stresses.
Developments to reduce residual stress and consequential component distortion and performance restrictions are of great importance and relevance within industry to increase adoption of the SLM process. Titanium alloy Ti6Al-4V gr23 was chosen as the candidate material for this work based on its extensive use within the aerospace and biomedical industry sectors and its increasing use in other general engineering applications.
Key Findings