Characterization of the Structural and Tribological Properties of Medical Ti6Al4V Alloy Produced in Different Production Parameters Using Selective Laser Melting

Abstract

The tribological properties of the parts produced by the selective laser melting (SLM) are greatly influenced by the parameters/strategies used in the production and the postproduction heat treatments. Therefore, it is very important to know and control the parameters to be used in production on the tribological properties of the material. In this study, the effects of build orientation, hatch spacing, and heat treatment on the wear performance of medical Ti6Al4V alloy were investigated. The tribological properties of the samples produced by SLM were compared with the tribological characteristics of the parts produced by conventional method (casting). It was determined that the wear resistance of Ti6Al4V alloy increased with the decreasing of hatch spacing in SLM and the wear resistance of the 45 degrees angle on the production table positively affected the relative density rate. The highest surface hardness among the samples was obtained as similar to 360 HV0.3 for the sample produced at the 60 mu m hatch spacing and 45 degrees build orientation, which was the highest densification rate obtained. The lowest wear rate value was obtained for the sample produced at 60 mu m hatch spacing and 45 degrees build orientation where the highest densification rate and highest surface hardness were obtained. The wear rate of this sample was 26% lower than the wear rate of the sample produced by the casting method. The most suitable build orientation was determined as 45 degrees in terms of wear resistance of the alloy.