Laser Powder Bed Fusion of Ti15Mo Fused Tracks and Layers

A thorough review of the literature reveals that the production of the Ti15Mo alloy via laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) without unmelted Mo powder particles has been unsuccessful. The current research aims to produce the Ti15Mo alloy without unmelted Mo powder particles by using Mo powder particle size of 1.0 µm . Sintered tracks were produced over a wide range of laser powers and scanning speeds. The combination of the laser powers and scanning speeds produced different sintered track geometries and different penetration profiles. Optimum process parameters were determined from the top view and cross-sectional analysis of experimental specimens and used to produce double layers for further investigation. From the top view and cross-sectional analysis of the layers, it was observed that all the Mo powder particles melted completely with only random pockets of Mo concentration. The unique scanning strategy employed improved the homogeneity and surface quality of the alloy. The current experiment has opened a window of possibility to manufacture the Ti15Mo alloy without unmelted Mo powder particles at process parameters of 150 W, 1.4 m/s and 200 W, 1.0 m/s.