Electron Beam Powder Bed Fusion of Water Atomized Iron and Powder Blends
In the present state of the art, highly spherical alloy powders are employed as feedstock in powder bed fusion processes. These powders are characterized by high flowability and apparent density. Their elaborate fabrication process is reflected in high powder price, adding a significant fraction to...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-02-01
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| Series: | Materials |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/15/4/1567 |
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| author | Alexander Kirchner Burghardt Klöden Marie Franke-Jurisch Gunnar Walther Thomas Weißgärber |
| author_facet | Alexander Kirchner Burghardt Klöden Marie Franke-Jurisch Gunnar Walther Thomas Weißgärber |
| author_sort | Alexander Kirchner |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In the present state of the art, highly spherical alloy powders are employed as feedstock in powder bed fusion processes. These powders are characterized by high flowability and apparent density. Their elaborate fabrication process is reflected in high powder price, adding a significant fraction to the cost of additively manufactured parts. Thus, the use of non-spherical powders, such as water atomized material, can lower costs significantly. Here, the electron beam powder bed fusion (PBF-EB) of standard water atomized iron powder used for press-and-sinter is studied. Despite raking problems, using the coating mechanism in standard configuration samples with densities exceeding 99% were fabricated. In a further step, the addition of alloying elements by powder blending is explored. Important powder properties of feedstock blended from irregular and spherical powders are characterized. The PBF-EB processing of two alloys is presented. The first represents a low carbon steel. Samples were characterized by metallographic cross-section, energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) mapping, and mechanical testing. The second alloy system is a FeCrAl. After PBF-EB processing of the powder mixture, chemical homogeneity was achieved. Besides the low cost, this approach of using water atomized powder mixed with master alloy offers the advantage of high flexibility for potential application. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T21:31:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4f9278aa524f43be8c340284fa5ef466 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1944 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T21:31:20Z |
| publishDate | 2022-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Materials |
| spelling | doaj.art-4f9278aa524f43be8c340284fa5ef4662023-11-23T20:55:21ZengMDPI AGMaterials1996-19442022-02-01154156710.3390/ma15041567Electron Beam Powder Bed Fusion of Water Atomized Iron and Powder BlendsAlexander Kirchner0Burghardt Klöden1Marie Franke-Jurisch2Gunnar Walther3Thomas Weißgärber4Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM, 01277 Dresden, GermanyFraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM, 01277 Dresden, GermanyFraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM, 01277 Dresden, GermanyFraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM, 01277 Dresden, GermanyFraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM, 01277 Dresden, GermanyIn the present state of the art, highly spherical alloy powders are employed as feedstock in powder bed fusion processes. These powders are characterized by high flowability and apparent density. Their elaborate fabrication process is reflected in high powder price, adding a significant fraction to the cost of additively manufactured parts. Thus, the use of non-spherical powders, such as water atomized material, can lower costs significantly. Here, the electron beam powder bed fusion (PBF-EB) of standard water atomized iron powder used for press-and-sinter is studied. Despite raking problems, using the coating mechanism in standard configuration samples with densities exceeding 99% were fabricated. In a further step, the addition of alloying elements by powder blending is explored. Important powder properties of feedstock blended from irregular and spherical powders are characterized. The PBF-EB processing of two alloys is presented. The first represents a low carbon steel. Samples were characterized by metallographic cross-section, energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) mapping, and mechanical testing. The second alloy system is a FeCrAl. After PBF-EB processing of the powder mixture, chemical homogeneity was achieved. Besides the low cost, this approach of using water atomized powder mixed with master alloy offers the advantage of high flexibility for potential application.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/15/4/1567additive manufacturingelectron beam powder bed fusionwater atomizationironpowder blends |
| spellingShingle | Alexander Kirchner Burghardt Klöden Marie Franke-Jurisch Gunnar Walther Thomas Weißgärber Electron Beam Powder Bed Fusion of Water Atomized Iron and Powder Blends Materials additive manufacturing electron beam powder bed fusion water atomization iron powder blends |
| title | Electron Beam Powder Bed Fusion of Water Atomized Iron and Powder Blends |
| title_full | Electron Beam Powder Bed Fusion of Water Atomized Iron and Powder Blends |
| title_fullStr | Electron Beam Powder Bed Fusion of Water Atomized Iron and Powder Blends |
| title_full_unstemmed | Electron Beam Powder Bed Fusion of Water Atomized Iron and Powder Blends |
| title_short | Electron Beam Powder Bed Fusion of Water Atomized Iron and Powder Blends |
| title_sort | electron beam powder bed fusion of water atomized iron and powder blends |
| topic | additive manufacturing electron beam powder bed fusion water atomization iron powder blends |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/15/4/1567 |
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