Effect of Process Parameters on Contour Properties in Inconel 718 Structures Fabricated by Electron Beam Melting

Sammanfattning: Additive Manufacturing (AM), commonly known as 3D printing is a production method that utilises repeated addition of layers in order to produce a final shape. AM utilises less raw material and does not have drawbacks such as tool wear and material wastage as seen in conventional machining. However, they do have drawbacks such as poor surface and internal defects.  A common practice in AM is the fabrication of contour and bulk region using separate parameters.  The aim of this project was to study the effects of various process parameters on the contour properties. The process parameters considered were scanning speed, beam current and focus offset. The Nickel alloy Inconel 718 was utilised in Electron Beam Melting (EBM) to fabricate the test specimen. The samples used in this project were in an as-built condition which was priorly subjected to tensile testing for a different project. The tests performed in this project are hardness testing and microstructural investigation about grains, precipitates and the various defects.  The test results helped to understand the effect of various process parameters on the hardness and microstructure of the samples. The samples with lower scanning speed had higher hardness and lesser lack of fusion than samples with higher speed. In the case of varying beam current, the samples with higher beam current had higher hardness values and fewer lack of fusions. Similarly, the effects of varying two or more process parameters were also studied and their findings recorded. The microstructure consisted of a large number of shrinkage porosities in the bulk and contour regions. The presence of Niobium rich precipitates at grain boundaries and the grain structure for various process parameters were identified and recorded.