Opatová Kateřina, Zetková Ivana, Kučerová Ludmila
Regional Technological Institute, University of West Bohemia, 30100 Pilsen, Czech Republic.
Materials (Basel). 2020 Feb 20;13(4):956. doi: 10.3390/ma13040956.
Additive manufacturing (AM) is today in the main focus-and not only in commercial production. Products with complex geometry can be built using various AM techniques, which include laser sintering of metal powder. Although the technique has been known for a quite long time, the impact of the morphology of individual powder particles on the process has not yet been adequately documented. This article presents a detailed microscopic analysis of virgin and reused powder particles of MS1 maraging steel. The metallographic observation was performed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The particle size of the individual powder particles was measured in the SEM and the particle surface morphology and its change in the reused powder were observed. Individual particles were analyzed in detail using an SEM with a focused ion beam (FIB) milling capability. The powder particles were gradually cut off in thin layers so that their internal structure, chemical element distribution, possible internal defects, and shape could be monitored. Elemental distribution and phase distribution were analyzed using EDS and EBSD, respectively. Our findings lead to a better understanding and prediction of defects in additive-manufactured products. This could be helpful not just in the AM field, but in any metal powder-based processes, such as metal injection molding, powder metallurgy, spray deposition processes, and others.
如今，增材制造（AM）成为了主要焦点——不仅在商业生产中。具有复杂几何形状的产品可以使用各种增材制造技术来制造，其中包括金属粉末激光烧结。尽管这项技术已经为人所知很长时间了，但单个粉末颗粒的形态对该工艺的影响尚未得到充分记录。本文对MS1马氏体时效钢的原始粉末颗粒和回用粉末颗粒进行了详细的微观分析。金相观察使用扫描电子显微镜（SEM）进行。在扫描电子显微镜中测量单个粉末颗粒的粒径，并观察颗粒表面形态及其在回用粉末中的变化。使用具有聚焦离子束（FIB）铣削功能的扫描电子显微镜对单个颗粒进行详细分析。粉末颗粒被逐层切割，以便监测其内部结构、化学元素分布、可能存在的内部缺陷和形状。分别使用能谱仪（EDS）和电子背散射衍射（EBSD）分析元素分布和相分布。我们的研究结果有助于更好地理解和预测增材制造产品中的缺陷。这不仅对增材制造领域有帮助，而且对任何基于金属粉末的工艺，如金属注射成型、粉末冶金、喷射沉积工艺等都有帮助。
