Additive manufacturing of WE43 and modified AZ91D magnesium alloys using the laser engineered net shaping process

Magnesium alloys WE43 and AZ91D offer weight savings for structural applications. WE43 contains rare-earth elements such as yttrium and neodymium, whereas AZ91D and the AZ class of alloys are lower-cost containing aluminium and zinc. This work uses a modified version of the latter, identified as AZ91D*, where calcium and yttrium have been added. Laser Engineered Net Shaping (LENS) equipment was used to investigate the 3D printing behaviour of gas-atomized WE43 and AZ91D* material. Process evaluations were first done using single track laser scans across wrought substrates of WE43 and AZ31. Process parameters were then developed that enabled deposition of build coupons with less than 1% porosity. These were used for microstructural and mechanical property assessments. The energy densities used were in the range of 40 – 60 J/mm² for AZ91D*, while for WE43 a value of 50 J/mm² was selected. A focus of the work was managing the tendency of magnesium materials to fume heavily during deposition, while achieving a deposit with close to nominal density, i.e. having a low incidence of voids or other micro- or macro-structural defects. The porosity of AZ91D* builds did not seem to correlate with increasing deposition energy density, however WE43 builds did, up to a practical limit imposed by generation of excessive fume. WE43 generated much less fume than AZ91D*. Analysis of the input powder materials indicate the presence of oxides on the particle surfaces. The WE43 powders had a noticeable shell of yttrium oxide. The microstructures of WE43 builds show the presence of arc-shaped structures that are likely the same yttrium oxides, partially, or fully ‘unfolded’. Tensile testing was conducted on WE43 build coupons to assess the effect of a T6 heat treatment. The effect on the ultimate tensile and yield strengths was negligible, however the % elongation at break almost doubled. Inspection of the fracture surfaces suggests this was due to a change in mechanism from fracture initiation at sites of lack-of-fusion/un-melted particles, to a more ductile micro-void coalescence. Furthermore, a not previously described microstructure anomaly was observed: the presence of pure elemental magnesium crystallites and films on the fracture surface. These are attributed to condensation of magnesium vapour on previously built layers and are a possible reason for the existence of lack-of-fusion defects. The in-depth study of process fundamentals will enable future work on process fume inhibition based on process optimization and alloy composition with the goal of producing parts for biomedical and lightweighting applications.