The Australian scientific team has made the first 3D printing of the highest specific strength titanium alloy ever, a major leap in the aerospace, defense, energy, and biomedical industries.
The latest research from Monash University shows that cutting-edge 3D printing technology can be used to produce ultra-high-strength commercial titanium alloys with unprecedented mechanical properties.
"Titanium alloys require sophisticated casting and thermal machining to achieve the high strength required for certain critical applications. Additional material manufacturing techniques such as 3D printing can utilize their unique manufacturing processes to produce super-strong, thermally stable components in commercial titanium alloys."
In the latest study, the team achieved tensile strength of more than 1600 MPa after simple heat treatment of a commercial titanium alloy, the highest specific strength of all 3-D printed metals to date, paving the way for the production of structural materials with unique microstructure and excellent properties that can be widely used in many fields.
The latest research provides a completely new method for precipitation hardening of commercial alloys, which can be used to produce real components with complex shapes and can be applied in the field of load bearing. Titanium alloys have not been used in this field so far. In addition, this is achieved by 3D printing combined with simple heat treatment, which also means that the process costs of the latest technology are significantly lower than those of other materials with similar strength.
