Selective Laser Melting of TiC-Based Cermet: HIP Studies

• Published in: Transactions of the Indian Institute of Metals 2023-02, Vol.76 (2), p.565-570
• Main Authors: Maurya, H. S., Kollo, L., Tarraste, M., Juhani, K., Sergejev, F., Prashanth, K. G.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cermets; Chemistry and Materials Science; Corrosion and Coatings; Fracture toughness; Hardness; Heat treating; High temperature; Hot isostatic pressing; Laser beam melting; Lasers; Materials Science; Mechanical properties; Metallic Materials; Microstructure; Optimization; Original Article; Pulse shape; Rapid prototyping; Rheological properties; Rheology; Tribology
• ISSN: 0972-2815; 0975-1645
• DOI: 10.1007/s12666-022-02684-5

Development in the microstructure and mechanical properties of as-built TiC-Fe based cermets fabricated through selective laser melting (SLM) adapting pulse shape technique has been studied and is compared after post-treatment process like hot isostatic pressing (HIP). Pulse shaping temporarily distributes the energy uniformly within the single layer of pulses and the laser material exposure can be controlled with controlled energy delivery. For the fabrication of TiC-based cermets, laser beam optimization proves to be an effective fabrication method to produce crack-free cermets. Some porosity may be observed in as-built samples due to a lack of fusion and poor feedstock powder rheology. The maximum hardness and fracture toughness values achieved for the as-fabricated samples are found to be 1020 ± 50 HV and 16.5 ± 1.5 MPa m 1/2 . Post-processing treatments such as HIP performed at high temperature and high pressures were adapted, where the hardness decreases (due to microstructural coarsening) and fracture toughness show a marginal increase (due to pore closure).