Investigating the impact of heat treatment of direct metal laser sintered Ti6Al4 V and inconel 718 alloys

Metal 3D printing has revolutionized manufacturing with its additive approach, offering many advantages. However, a major hurdle has emerged: optimizing heat treatment for 3D-printed titanium and nickel alloys, especially for aircraft parts. This challenge has made it difficult to achieve the desired mechanical properties and performance. Researchers have been constantly developing and improving new methods to address these issues. This study explores heat treatment methods for Ti-6Al-4 V and Inconel 718 alloys created using Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS). The specimens have undergone an initial heat treatment at 800 °C for 2 h in an argon-free environment, followed by a two-stage aging process. After aging, these alloys have been characterized using progressive techniques like hardness testing, optical microscopy, density measurement, X-ray topography, scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Analysis with these methods reveals that the proposed 3D-printed alloys exhibit improved structure and properties.