Metal additive manufacturing materials
Titanium alloy
The alloy material is the first to be studied and widely used in metal additive manufacturing technology. It has the characteristics of low density, high specific strength, corrosion resistance, excellent mechanical properties at high temperature and biocompatibility. The most typical is TC4 titanium alloy, suitable for laser beam/electron beam rapid prototyping process, mainly used in aviation frames, beams, joints, blades and other parts. There’s seamless titanium tube.
Nickel alloy
It is a kind of superalloy, which is a kind of metal material that can work at high temperature above 600℃ and under certain stress environment for a long time. It has high temperature resistance, good thermal corrosion resistance and oxidation resistance, etc. It is mainly used for high-performance engines.
steel
The largest branch of an alloy material. In the history of additive manufacturing technology, steel is an important material widely used, which can be subdivided into stainless steel, high strength steel and die steel. Stainless steel has the characteristics of chemical corrosion resistance, high temperature resistance and good mechanical properties. Its powder formability is good, the preparation process is simple and the cost is low.
Aluminium alloy
The melting point is low, the temperature gradient in the process of rapid melting is relatively small, easy to process forming and forming parts are not easy to deformation and cracking, but easy oxidation, with high reflectivity and thermal conductivity characteristics. At present, aluminum alloy is more based on SLM research and application.
Magnesium alloy
The lightest structural alloy, due to its special high strength and damping properties, has the potential to replace steel and aluminum alloy in many applications. In addition, it has the characteristics of in situ degradation and excellent biocompatibility, so it has more application prospects than traditional alloys in the biomedical industry.
Other alloys
They also include cemented carbide, cobalt-chromium, intermetallic compound materials such as Cu-Su, WNi, Ni-Al and Nb-Ti-Si, and some gradient materials.