On the surface integrity of Electron Beam Melted Ti6Al4V after machining

摘要

The Additive Manufacturing process known as Electron Beam Melting (EBM) is increasingly used to produce Ti6Al4V biomedical parts, whose functional surfaces, however, need to be machined afterwards. The paper addresses the fundamental issue of surface integrity of EBM parts when subjected to machining operation under dry, flood and cryogenic cooling conditions. The machined surface integrity is evaluated in terms of microstructural and mechanical features, residual stresses, surface topography and defects. Results are then compared to the outcomes of the same machining tests carried out on the conventional wrought alloy. This study points out the different machinability of the two investigated alloys, highlighting that new insights into optimization of parameters for machining AM alloys are needed.