Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY-JMR&T, cilt.34, ss.2814-2827, 2025 (SCI-Expanded)
Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) is a commonly used Additive Manufacturing (AM) method for the production of geometrically complex metal components that are used in high-value sectors. It uses high power fibre lasers directed by a galvanometric scanner to rapidly melt powdered feedstock. LPBF systems are expensive, making them inaccessible to many sectors and have challenges related to in-process thermal control, production of large components and scalability limitations. As an alternative to traditional LPBF, this study introduces Diode Point Melting (DPM), combining multiple low-power, energy efficient blue (450 nm) diode lasers into a single focal point. DPM's laser source is fixed to a scanning gantry axis that traverses across the powder bed, creating a low-cost alternative to traditional LPBF (similar to x10 lower laser hardware cost). DPM processes slower than LPBF, generating reduced thermal gradients with improved material laser energy absorption due to use of a shorter laser wavelength. DPM processing of Ti6Al4V was undertaken using 38W creating samples that were 99.41% dense. DPM's slower melt pool solidification rate enabled the formation of a stable alpha + beta phase creating harder samples. The grain size of Ti6Al4V samples fabricated using DPM were significantly larger compared to those produced by LPBF (grain size area similar to x30 larger). Young's modulus of the samples produced via DPM was found to be higher than LPBF manufactured Ti6Al4V, indicating increased stiffness. DPM is a promising low-cost alternative to LPBF, offering the opportunity to make net-shape metal AM more widely accessible in both academic and industrial sectors.