Defect-free laser powder bed fusion of Ti–48Al–2Cr–2Nb with a high temperature inductive preheating system

In the industrial panorama, laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) systems enable the near net shaping of metal powders into complex geometries with unique design features. This makes the technology appealing for many industrial applications, which require high performance materials combined with lightweight design, lattice structures and organic forms. However, many of the alloys that would be ideal for the realisation of these functional components are classified as difficult to weld due to their cracking sensitivity. γ-TiAl alloys are currently processed via electron beam melting (EBM) to produce components for energy generation applications. The EBM process provides crack-free processing thanks to the preheating stages between layers, but lacks geometrical precision. The use of LPBF could provide the means for higher precision, and therefore an easier post-processing stage. However, industrial LPBF systems employ resistive heating elements underneath the base plate which do not commonly reach the high temperatures required for the processing of γ-TiAl alloys. Thus, elevated temperature preheating of the build part and control over the cooling rate after the deposition process is concluded are amongst the features which require further investigations. In this work, the design and implementation of a novel inductive high temperature LPBF system to process Ti–48Al–2Cr–2Nb is presented. Specimens were built with preheating at 800 °C and the cooling rate at the end of the build was controlled at 5 °C min−1. Crack formation was suppressed and apparent density in excess of 99% was achieved.