Description
TiAl6V4 (Ti-64) is traditionally machined from solid slabs for the production of safety-critical structural components in the aerospace industry. This process is associated with a high buy-to-fly ratio of 20–40 and significant non-recyclable material waste. Wire and Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) represents a resource-saving alternative, as the BTF ratio can be reduced to around 3 by applying near-net-shape structures layer by layer. This work investigates the influence of various process parameters on the microstructure and associated mechanical properties of WAAM-manufactured Ti-64 structures. It has been shown that the wire feed rate in particular has a decisive influence on the geometry, substrate bonding, and transformation structure. The resulting bimodal α/β microstructure exhibits slightly increased hardness compared to the globular rolled structure. Process gases had no significant influence, whereas heat treatment plays a significant role: stress relief annealing improves the properties, while solution annealing with precipitation deteriorates them. In addition, a height and directional dependence of the properties due to heat accumulation was observed, which could be significantly reduced by maintaining constant interlayer temperatures. This proves that WAAM components can match or exceed conventionally milled components in terms of quasi-static and cyclic properties. The results lay the foundation for the development of stable process windows and for future work on graduated structures through targeted temperature control.
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