Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of CMSX-4 Single Crystals Prepared by Additive Manufacturing

Abstract Currently, additive manufacturing (AM) experiences significant attention in nearly all industrial sectors. AM is already well established in fields such as medicine or spare part production. Nevertheless, processing of high-performance nickel-based superalloys and especially single crystalline alloys such as CMSX-4 ® is challenging due to the difficulty of intense crack formation. Selective electron beam melting (SEBM) takes place at high process temperatures (~ 1000 °C) and under vacuum conditions. Current work has demonstrated processing of CMSX-4 ® without crack formation. In addition, by using appropriate AM scan strategies, even single crystals (SX SEBM CMSX-4 ® ) develop directly from the powder bed. In this contribution, we investigate the mechanical properties of SX SEBM CMSX-4 ® prepared by SEBM in the as-built condition and after heat treatment. The focus is on hardness, strength, low cycle fatigue, and creep properties. These properties are compared with conventional cast and heat-treated material.