Mechanical properties of Ti-6Al-4V fabricated by electron beam melting

Powder bed additive manufacturing of titanium components offers several advantages. The high freedom of design enables the fabrication of structurally optimized, lightweight parts. Complex geometries may serve additional functions. The use of additive manufacturing has the potential to revolutionize logistics by dramatically reducing lead time and enabling a high degree of customization. Manufacturing near net shape parts reduces the loss of expensive material.For the application in safety relevant parts certainty about static and fatigue strength is critical. A challenge arises from complex influences of built parameters, heat treatments and surface quality. Ti-6Al-4V specimen built by electron beam melting (EBM) were subjected to heat treatments adapted to various employment scenarios. The results of tensile and fatigue testing as well as crack propagation and fractography will be compared to titanium manufactured conventionally and by selective laser melting (SLM). The mechanical behavior will be correlated to the microstructural evolution caused by the heat treatments.