Development of a Laser Powder Bed Fusion Process Tailored for the Additive Manufacturing of High-Quality Components Made of the Commercial Magnesium Alloy WE43
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Magnesium Alloys
2.2. Casting of the WE43 Samples
2.3. PBF-LB of WE43
2.4. Mechanical Testing
2.5. Microstructural Analysis
2.6. X-ray Characterization
3. Results
3.1. Process Development
3.2. Tomographic Analysis
3.3. Microstrucure and Phase Analysis
3.4. Mechanical Properties
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
- With a process development targeted for maximum relative density, the process can be stabilized to generate large parts while ensuring a high density.
- The microstructure consists of a bimodal grain size distribution with smaller spherical grains and larger elongated grains. Using the laser parameters, the microstructure could be adapted to directly adjust the properties of the generated part. Compared to the as-cast state, the grain size is one to two orders of magnitude lower, which explains the high strength even for WE43.
- Still the porosity of the PBF-LB parts is higher than in the as-cast parts, which reduces the strength. Thus, there is still a great potential in the PBF-LB process. In further investigations, additional adjustments, such as those to the laser parameter or the atmosphere, have to be made to stabilize the process for Mg. Furthermore, an alloy adapted to the process could enhance the process capabilities.
- The PBF-LB parts mainly consist of Mg, Mg3Nd and Y2O3. The objective of reducing MgO to Mg by the rare-earth elements could be achieved. Due to the fast cooling rate, no Mg3Nd precipitates could be formed. With additional heat treatments, precipitates of these intermetallic phases could be realized and additionally change the components’ properties.
Author Contributions
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Step | Process Parameters for Screening Experiment | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Laser Power in W | Scanning Speed in mm/s | Hatch Distance in µm | Layer Height in µm | Hatch Pattern | Build Plate Temperature in °C | |
−1 | 20 | 100 | 10 | 20 | Lines | 40 |
0 | 60 | 800 | 80 | - | - | - |
1 | 100 | 1500 | 150 | 75 | Chess | 200 |
Option | Process Parameters | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Laser Power in W | Scanning Speed in mm/s | Hatch Distance in µm | Layer Height in µm | Hatch Pattern | Build Plate Temperature in °C | Energy Input in J/mm3 | Relative Density in % | |
a | 20 | 100 | 10 | 20 | Lines | 200 | 1000 | 42.2 |
b | 60 | 800 | 80 | 75 | Lines | 200 | 12.5 | 80.0 |
c | 100 | 800 | 10 | 75 | Chess | 200 | 625 | 99.9 |
d | 80 | 450 | 45 | 20 | Chess | 40 | 197.5 | 99.9 |
Element | Composition in wt.% | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
EDX 1 | EDX 2 | EDX 3 | EDX 4 | Spark Spectrometer | |
Mg | 89.7 | 97.8 | 94.9 | 84.0 | 94 |
Y | 7.9 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 4.7 | 3.9 |
Nd | 2.4 | 1.2 | 2.1 | 11.3 | 2.1 |
Element | Composition in wt.% | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
EDX 5 | EDX 6 | EDX 7 | WE43 Powder | |
Mg | 89.4 | 91.5 | 73.0 | 91.6 |
Y | 6.2 | 4.4 | 22.1 | 4.6 |
Nd | 4.4 | 4.1 | 4.9 | 3.8 |
Load Type | Characteristic Value | WE43 as-Cast | WE43 PBF-LB | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Compressive load | Yield strength in MPa | 146 ± 7 | 297 ± 8 | |
Compressive strength in MPa | 383 ± 37 | 424 ± 41 | ||
Elongation in % | 20 ± 2 | 11 ± 2 | ||
Bending load | Yield strength in MPa | 271 ± 35 | 499 ± 10 | 359 ± 18 |
Bending strength in MPa | 430 ± 30 | 601 ± 31 | 375 ± 24 | |
Tensile load | Yield strength in MPa | 142 ± 2 | - | - |
Tensile strength in MPa | 184 ± 22 | - | - | |
Elongation in % | 2.3 ± 2 | - | - | |
Hardness | Vickers hardness in HV10 | 69.0 | 94.1 |
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Julmi, S.; Abel, A.; Gerdes, N.; Hoff, C.; Hermsdorf, J.; Overmeyer, L.; Klose, C.; Maier, H.J. Development of a Laser Powder Bed Fusion Process Tailored for the Additive Manufacturing of High-Quality Components Made of the Commercial Magnesium Alloy WE43. Materials 2021, 14, 887. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14040887
Julmi S, Abel A, Gerdes N, Hoff C, Hermsdorf J, Overmeyer L, Klose C, Maier HJ. Development of a Laser Powder Bed Fusion Process Tailored for the Additive Manufacturing of High-Quality Components Made of the Commercial Magnesium Alloy WE43. Materials. 2021; 14(4):887. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14040887
Chicago/Turabian StyleJulmi, Stefan, Arvid Abel, Niklas Gerdes, Christian Hoff, Jörg Hermsdorf, Ludger Overmeyer, Christian Klose, and Hans Jürgen Maier. 2021. "Development of a Laser Powder Bed Fusion Process Tailored for the Additive Manufacturing of High-Quality Components Made of the Commercial Magnesium Alloy WE43" Materials 14, no. 4: 887. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14040887