Page 58 - MSAM-3-3

Materials Science in

Additive Manufacturing

ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
The effect of thermal rest time during in situ

alloying of Ti41Nb through laser powder bed
fusion

Guo Ren Chou , Sheng Huang 1,2 , and Swee Leong Sing *
1
3
1 School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang
Avenue, 639798, Singapore
2 Singapore Centre for 3D Printing, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, 639798,
Singapore
3 Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of University, 9 Engineering Drive 1,
117575, Singapore

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of thermal rest time variation on in situ alloying
of Ti41Nb (wt.%) within a single part, building on previous research that utilized a
short stripe width scanning strategy to promote interaction between individual melt
pools. Employing a contour scan from the part center outwards, diverse thermal rest
times were achieved at different locations within the component. Results revealed
a significant influence of varying thermal rest times on the amount of unmelted Nb
and mechanical properties of the part. The findings underscore the importance of
considering thermal rest time in in situ alloying and laser powder bed fusion (LPBF)
printing in general, as it can markedly affect print quality. This study contributes
valuable insights for optimizing LPBF processing parameters and advancing the
*Corresponding author:
Swee Leong Sing understanding of in situ alloying through LPBF.
(sweeleong.sing@nus.edu.sg)
Citation: Chou GR, Huang S, Keywords: Additive manufacturing; 3D Printing; Ti–Nb; Powder bed fusion; Selective
Sing SW. The effect of thermal rest
time during in situ alloying of Ti41Nb laser melting
via laser powder bed fusion. Mater
Sci Add Manuf. 2024;3(3):3506
doi: 10.36922/msam.3506
Received: April 25, 2024 1. Introduction
Accepted: August 26, 2024 Three-dimensional (3D) printing, also known as additive manufacturing (AM),
Published Online: September 11, 2024 constitutes one of the three fundamental automated processes, alongside subtractive and
formative fabrication methods. Unlike subtractive manufacturing, AM encompasses a
1
Copyright: © 2024 Author(s).
This is an Open-Access article range of processes that build parts based on 3D digital data, typically through layer-
distributed under the terms of the wise material deposition. While AM is often associated with fused deposition modeling
Creative Commons Attribution
License, permitting distribution, technology, due to its commercialization and affordability for hobbyists, noteworthy
and reproduction in any medium, instances of AM trace back to 1987 with the launch of 3D Systems’ first commercial AM
provided the original work is
properly cited. system in the US, the stereolithography apparatus-1. Since then, new AM technologies
have rapidly emerged to address evolving application demands.
Publisher’s Note: AccScience
Publishing remains neutral with In recent decades, metal AM has enjoyed significant advancements, owing to
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional the development of precise high-energy sources and computational technology.
affiliations. This bottom-up approach allows the parts manufacturing industry to overcome

Volume 3 Issue 3 (2024) 1 doi: 10.36922/msam.3506