Q4 Titanium 6-4 Material Properties Development Project Manager(s)/Lead(s) completion. Initial build development also entails main- taining and further honing our safety protocols around Kenneth Cooper/EM42 Ti-6Al-4V. As a reactive powder, it requires vigilant (256) 544–8591 grounding and safety consciousness in order to expose the minimal number of operators to the least risk for the Mindy Nettles/XP50 smallest amount of time. (256) 544–1569 Sponsoring Program(s) Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate Space Launch System Advanced Development Project Description This task involves development and characterization of selective laser melting (SLM) parameters for additive manufacturing of titanium-6%aluminum-4%vanadium (Ti-6Al-4V or Ti64). SLM is a relatively new manu- facturing technology that fabricates complex metal components by fusing thin layers of powder with a high-powered laser beam, utilizing a 3D computer design to direct the energy and form the shape without Figure 1: SLM machine with glovebox required for Ti64. traditional tools, dies, or molds. There are several metal SLM technologies and materials on the market today, and various efforts to quantify the mechanical proper- Notable Accomplishments ties, however, nothing consolidated or formal to date. Meanwhile, SLM material fatigue properties of Ti64 The first build plate was a set of four small material test are currently highly sought after by NASA propulsion samples built on a stainless steel 90 mm × 90 mm build designers for rotating turbomachinery components. plate. Four samples were run at 250 W, 1,600 mm/s with varying spot sizes in an effort to quantify the melt pool The primary objective of this task is to utilize NASA size of Ti-6al-4V in the SLM. Part parameters were Marshall Space Flight Center’s (MSFC’s) existing SLM based on parameters successfully used at KU Leuven on equipment (fig. 1) and knowledge base with other metal a similar laser system. Three of the four samples failed alloys to generate a reduced design allowables database to build due to peeling off the plate due to dissimilar λ. of expected properties for SLM Ti64 parts. Unlike Inco- This has been corrected for by switching to Ti-6Al-4V nel 625, Ti64 has never been used in MSFC’s Concept- build plates. The surviving part has been sent for sec- Laser SLM machine prior to this development effort. tioning and will be used to determine initial density. Therefore, we are starting with an initial build develop- Parameters will be adjusted accordingly to achieve the ment followed by parameter optimization. Initial build highest density possible. development entails finding the correct general param- eters, build plate materials, and build settings that yield satisfactorily dense (>99.5%) parts that will build to 26 References Crumbly, C.M.; Bickley, F.P.; and Hueter, U.: “Space Launch System Spacecraft/Payloads Integration and Evolution Office Advanced Development FY 2014 Annual Report,” NASA/TM—2015–218201, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL, S January 2015. L S A D 27