Heat treatment and characterization of Ti6Al4V alloy produced by selective laser melting (SLM) method

Additive Manufacturing (AM) method has become increasingly popular in the industry due to the ability of fully functional complex geometries to produce material from a digital model by layer-by-layer joining. This technology facilitates the production of parts which cannot be produced by conventional manufacturing methods. Due to the advantages it provides, it has become a preferred method especially in aerospace, aviation and biomedical fields. However, residual stresses occur in the manufactured parts and reduce the ductility of the material. The ductility and toughness of biomedical materials must be high. Otherwise undesirable it causes brittle fracture of the implants desired to integrate with the bone. Brittle and ductility of less biomedical materials cause the desired properties do not fully meet. In order to improve the structural and mechanical properties of these materials, some additional processes must be applied after the production process. In this master thesis, the effect of heat treatment application on samples produced by using Powder Bed Process-Selective Laser Melting (SLM) method using Ti-6Al-4V alloy powder material with micro and nano structured TiO2 films formed by anodization were investigated and the samples produced amount of structural (porosity, optical, SEM) and mechanical (surface roughness, microhardness) properties. After the heat treatment, material properties are suitable for use in biomedical field were obtained. This technology, which is a new production method, has been characterized by applying various tests with the results obtained. Researches have shown that this technology may have an important global field in the coming years and can replace traditional production methods.