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As the main consumable for metal 3D printing, metal powder has a crucial impact on the quality of printed products. This article mainly compares two commonly used high-quality metal powder preparation processes, vacuum induction melting argon atomization (VIGA) and plasma rotating electrode method (PREP), and the performance of 3D printed metal powders produced by the two powders. VIGA Metal Powder Making Method AA method of powder making is a powder making method that uses a fast flowing argon gas stream to impact the metal liquid, break it into fine particles, and then condense it into a solid powder. In the conventional crucible argon atomization method powder (VIGA) method, the metal melt to contact the crucible, refractory erosion may be added to the metal powder ceramic inclusions, especially in the preparation of active metal powder (such as titanium alloy powder), the metal will react with the refractory, not only will increase inclusions, refractory elements will be reduced into the metal melt, so that the powder composition changes. In order to improve the powder purity, the conventional argon atomization method was optimized and the crucible-free argon atomization (EIGA) method was proposed. The EIGA method melts the slowly rotating electrode material by a

As the main consumable for metal 3D printing, metal powder has a crucial impact on the quality of printed products. 3D printing of precise and complex parts in aerospace, defense, and medical fields has high requirements on powder properties such as particle size, morphology, and purity. This paper introduces the basic requirements and main powder making processes for several commonly used high-quality nickel-based, cobalt-based alloy and titanium alloy metal powders for 3D printing in the aerospace field. Introduction of 3D Printing Metal Powders for Aerospace Unlike traditional metal material manufacturing technology with huge equipment, long processes, high energy consumption, pollution, and low material utilization, metal 3D printing has the following advantages: (1) high overall material utilization; (2) no need to open moulds, few manufacturing processes and short cycle times; (3) parts with complex structures can be manufactured; (4) free design according to mechanical property requirements, without considering manufacturing processes. In recent years, metal 3D printing has been developed by leaps and bounds. Metal 3D printing is mainly used to provide rapid production of models for industrial design and the processing of complex moulds, as well as the production of small batches, complex structures, high performance, and large metal components. Metal

Titanium alloy powder and titanium aluminum alloy powders are a common class of metal materials used for 3D printing. The metal powders made by PREP are widely used in the aerospace, biomedical, and automotive industries. Titanium alloy powder for 3D Printing Titanium alloy has high specific strength, good corrosion resistance, and low-temperature resistance, and is mostly used in the manufacture of various pressure vessels, such as frames, rocket shells, etc. According to statistics, the proportion of titanium alloys used in passenger aircraft fuselages reaches 20%, and the proportion of military aircraft fuselages will reach 50%. Among them, Ti-6Al-4V belongs to the (α+β) type titanium alloy, which has the advantages of both α and β titanium alloy, with high specific strength, high thermal strength, and good comprehensive mechanical properties, widely used in the manufacture of aircraft blades, compressor discs, and aero-engine fuel storage, etc. Metal additive manufacturing technologies are divided into two main categories: Powder bed fusion (PBF) and directed energy deposition (DED). Powder bed fusion is divided into Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS), Selective Laser Melting (SLM), and Electron Beam Melting (EBM) depending on the heat source. Energy deposition techniques are divided into Laser Engineered Net

This article focuses on the properties and applications of powdered metal materials commonly used in aerospace, high strength stainless steel powders prepared using PREP( Plasma rotating electrode process). Background to the Application of the PREP The use of additive manufacturing in aerospace, biomedical and automotive applications has resulted in the widespread use of high-strength stainless steel, titanium aluminum, titanium alloys, nickel-based alloys and high-temperature alloys due to their excellent material properties. The requirements of SEBM technology in terms of powder flow, bulk density, impurity content, and sphericity have led to an increasing interest in the preparation of powders by PREP equipment. The main methods used to prepare metal powders are Water atomization, WA, Gas atomization, GA, and Plasma atomization, GA. Plasma atomization, PA, Plasma rotating electrode process, PREP. Hydride-dehydride, HDH, etc. Compared with other preparation methods, the PREP powder has the advantages of good sphericity, smooth powder surface, less satellite powder, and hollow powder, high purity, good flowability, and narrow particle size distribution, meeting the basic requirements of SEBM technology for raw materials. water atomization High-strength Stainless Steel Metal Powder Materials for Aerospace Applications According to statistics, the amount of steel used in aircraft structural materials is approximately 5% to 10%. High-strength stainless

Titanium aluminum alloy Ti48Al2Cr2Nb has the characteristics of high-temperature resistance, oxidation resistance, and low density, and its elastic modulus and creep resistance are comparable to nickel-based high-temperature alloys, and its density is less than half of that of nickel-based alloys, and its use temperature is expected to reach more than 900°C. It is an ideal material to replace traditional superalloys at 600-900°C to achieve weight reduction and is considered to be one of the most promising high-temperature structural materials with broad application prospects in the aerospace and automotive industries. Background on the Application of Ti48Al2Cr2Nb Alloy As early as 2005, North Carolina State University in the United States publicly reported the organization structure of electron beam selective melting of titanium-aluminum alloy, followed by Texas State University in the United States, Arcam in Sweden, and Avio in Italy also carried out research on electron beam selective melting of titanium-aluminum alloy. The Italian company Avio is at the world-leading level in the engineering application research of electron beam selective melting and forming of complex titanium-aluminum components, and the company has successfully developed a variety of electron beam selective melting and forming technologies for complex titanium-aluminum components. It is reported that the Italian