The equipment and materials of metal 3D printers have reached 1 billion US dollars in the world. Although compared with plastic 3D printing, the output value is only about 10%, it is expected that metal 3D printing will reach a scale of 10 billion by the end of 2022. So, how is titanium alloy 3D printing technology different from the field of metal 3D printing? What is the status of its research? What about the application prospects in aerospace and other fields?
Research status of titanium alloy 3D printing technology
In recent years, with the rapid development of titanium alloy direct manufacturing technologies such as laser selective melting (SLM) manufacturing and electron beam selective melting (EBSM) manufacturing, titanium alloy 3D printing manufacturing technology for customized functional parts has become more and more mature. The molding, process, and equipment of customized functional parts of materials have become a research hotspot.
Selective laser melting SLM refers to irradiating titanium alloy powder with a laser beam under the protection of argon or nitrogen gas. The titanium alloy powder melts and solidifies quickly after absorbing the laser energy, thereby melting and bonding, dense structures, and high-precision titanium alloy functional parts. It is the most commonly used titanium alloy 3D printing method for research and production at home and abroad.
Applications in aerospace and other fields
In terms of the application field of titanium alloy 3D printing technology, titanium alloy 3D printing has developed rapidly in the aerospace and medical fields in recent years. The most widely used scenarios are mainly concentrated in high-precision aerospace parts, dentistry, and human bone. The materials are mainly biomaterials with good compatibility with human tissue, such as titanium alloy and stainless steel. Recently, the thoracic surgery expert team of Union Medical College Hospital successfully implanted a "custom-made" 3D printed titanium alloy sternum rib, and the injured person wore a titanium alloy "armor" to reshape the new thorax.
The direct production of titanium alloy parts is developing rapidly in the field of 3D printing. The use of metal powder SLM equipment to directly print and manufacture titanium alloy parts solves the creative problem of small batches and customization in aerospace and other fields because it can process traditional methods Complicated parts that are difficult or even impossible to process, so it has unparalleled advantages in direct printing production parts.
Because parts in aerospace, aviation, medical, and other fields require "high-precision", "high-quality" and "ultra-precision" application characteristics, higher requirements are placed on the quality of titanium alloy 3D printing powder. The quality of titanium alloy additive manufacturing parts is closely related to the properties of metal powder, including powder particle size, sphericity, fluidity, bulk density, etc.
Based on JR's observation of the market and long-term titanium alloy 3D printing manufacturing practice, we especially use ultra-fine TC4 titanium alloy powder for 3D printing and molding according to the special needs of users for a long time. material manufacturing field.
The excellent comprehensive mechanical properties of titanium alloy 3D printed products can meet the performance requirements of aero-engines, and their high specific strength and light weight provide support for blade weight reduction; the finished product has high thermal stability and oxidation resistance, which can Extend the life of the blade and the inspection interval; at the same time, the interior of the part adopts a hollow structure, which has a large design space and can realize more diverse shapes to meet the needs of various scenarios.
Titanium alloy 3D printing is a product-forming method widely used in aerospace and medical fields. After the product is formed by selective laser melting (SLM) additive manufacturing equipment, the microstructure of the obtained parts is uniform and dense and has the characteristics of rapid solidification. The tensile strength, yield strength, and elongation of the printed parts are about 6-7%, 6-10%, and 55-60% higher than those of the forged parts, respectively. The printed parts have high internal dimensional accuracy, high specific strength, and moderate high-temperature mechanical properties, so the parts have good load-bearing capacity and stress capacity, which meets the requirements of safety-critical applications such as aerospace.
Therefore, the application prospect of titanium alloy 3D printing technology in aerospace and other fields will be extremely bright!