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Metal additive manufacturing (AM) technologies can be classified according to the physical process involving the raw material as fusion-based and solid-state processes. The latter includes sintering-based technologies, which are aligned with conventional fabrication techniques, such as metal injection molding (MIM), and take advantage of the freeform fabrication of the initial green part. In the present work, 17-4PH stainless steel samples were fabricated by material extrusion, or rather bound metal deposition (BMD), a solid-state AM technology. The powder-based raw material was characterized together with samples fabricated using different angular infill strategies. By coupling different characterization technologies, it was possible to identify and classify major properties and defects of the raw material and the fabricated samples. In addition, microstructural modifications were found to be linked with the mesostructural defects typical of the BMD solid-state additive manufacturing technology applied to metals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The creep response in the air of commercially pure titanium was investigated at 550, 600, and 650 °C to assess the effect of oxidation on the mechanical response. Experiments demonstrated that prolonged exposures at high temperatures produced a marked reduction in the minimum creep rate under a given applied stress. Microhardness measurements showed that a hardened zone formed in proximity to the surface due to oxygen penetration into the metal. A simplified composite model was then used to describe the creep response. In this model, the sample consisted of two zones, the hard case that was enriched in oxygen and the soft pure-titanium core, both creeping with similar strain rates. Calculations led to an estimation of the dependence of the minimum creep rate on stress and temperature for the hard high-oxygen zone. The simplified composite model presented here provided a good description of the experimental creep data for pure titanium, tested in its air, and a reliable picture of the effect of oxidation on complex Ti alloys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The creep response of the 17-4PH precipitation hardening steel produced by a new additive manufacturing technology (Bound Metal Deposition) was investigated at 482 °C (900 °F), under stresses ranging from 350 to 600 MPa. Two different sets of samples produced with different deposition parameters were considered. Prior heat treatment consisted of ageing either at 482 °C (state H900) or at 621 °C (H1150). The minimum creep rate and time to rupture dependencies on applied stress were obtained. The creep response in terms of time to rupture under a given stress, in particular, was compared with the only other available literature dataset on a similar steel processed by traditional technologies. The analysis of the experiments demonstrated that the presence of dispersed defects causes, in the Bound Metal Deposited steel, a substantial reduction (35–40%) of the creep strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]