Evaluation of the Processing Capability of Aluminium Alloy 6061 for Metal Binder Jetting

Sinter-based Additive Manufacturing (AM) processes such as Metal Binder Jetting (MBJ) combine the advantages of AM, such as freedom of design and low material loss, with comparatively high economic efficiency. However, sintering of aluminium and aluminium alloys is challenging due to the stable oxide layer, and is becoming even more difficult by the addition of an organic binder. In this work, several commercially available 6061 powders in a particle size range suitable for MBJ have been investigated regarding their processing capability. After analysing the sinterability of loose powder at different temperatures and atmospheric conditions, MBJ binder was added to study the influence of the organic components and various debinding conditions. The powder which achieved the highest sintered density was selected for MBJ trials, and the resulting green and sintered density of simple test parts was investigated.