Experimental determination and comparison of the mechanical properties of samples produced by traditional powder metallurgy and Binder Jetting method

Titanium (Ti) and Ti alloys are the most commonly used among materials in aerospace systems, automotive and biomedical applications due to their high mechanical properties, low density, high corrosion resistance and biocompatibility. Today, porous and high density Ti parts are produced by powder metallurgy method. In the conventional powder metallurgy method, the powder is poured into the mold and shaped by applying pressure. Since mold is used in this method, it is difficult or impossible to produce parts with complex geometry. In the Binder Jetting method, one of the additive manufacturing techniques, Ti parts are manufactured directly in 3D printers without using molds. Also, the production cost is lower than the traditional powder metallurgy for specific designs and few productions. However, the mechanical strength of the parts produced with the Binder Jetting method is lower than the traditional method. In this study, pure Ti samples shaped by 25, 100 and 200 MPa compression pressure in uniaxial press method and Binder Jetting method were subjected to sintering at 1200 oC for 120 minutes. After sintering, microstructures of samples were examined by optical image, XRD, SEM and EDS analysis. Samples produced with a compression pressure of 25 MPa and samples produced with a 3D printer yielded approximately 94% and 92% relative density, respectively. When the mechanical properties of Ti samples are examined, although the hardness and strength values of the samples produced with the 3D printer are lower than the samples produced by the traditional method, they are more suitable for the bone structures in the regions to be implanted in biomedical applications