Virtual and Physical Prototyping
Virtual and Physical Prototyping
To cite this article: Evren Yasa , Jan Deckers , Jean-Pierre Kruth , Marleen Rombouts & Jan Luyten (2010)
Charpy impact testing of metallic selective laser melting parts, Virtual and Physical Prototyping, 5:2, 89-98, DOI:
10.1080/17452751003703894
Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained
in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no
representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the
Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and
are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and
should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for
any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever
or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of
the Content.
This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic
reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any
form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://
www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions
                                                                Virtual and Physical Prototyping, Vol. 5, No. 2, June 2010, 8998
                                                                           Evren Yasa1*, Jan Deckers1, Jean-Pierre Kruth1, Marleen Rombouts2 and Jan Luyten2
                                                                                     1
                                                                                         Mechanical Engineering, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 300B, Heverlee 3001, Belgium
                                                                                                          2
                                                                                                            VITO NV, Boeretang 200, Mol 2400, Belgium
                                                                                   to be produced and powder particles are completely melted. SLM is capable of producing
                                                                                   near full density parts with an almost infinite geometric freedom. However, the
                                                                                   mechanical properties obtained with SLM may differ from the ones of bulk material.
                                                                                   In this study, Charpy impact tests are applied on the samples produced by SLM from
                                                                                   different materials; Ti-6Al-4V, AISI 316L (X2CrNiMo18-14-3) and maraging steel 300
                                                                                   (X3CoMoTi18-9-5). The influence of the building axis as well as of various heat
                                                                                   treatments applied on the samples after SLM is investigated. The evolution of the
                                                                                   microstructures of the sample parts is also studied.
                                                                Figure 2. (a) Charpy impact test setup (ASM Handbook 1997); (b) produced specimens by SLM in three building axes.
                                                                92                                                                    E. Yasa et al.
                                                                height of fall gives the amount of energy absorption                               The experimental layout for all the batches produced is
                                                                involved in deforming and breaking the specimen                                 given in Table 2, where the number of produced samples
                                                                (ASM Handbook 1997). A V-shaped notch is generally                              from each material and specimen design is shown. Three
                                                                used in the impact specimen in order to control the                             batches of specimens from two materials (Ti alloy and
                                                                fracture process by concentrating stress in the area of                         the maraging steel 300) were produced in order to investigate
                                                                minimum cross-section. In this experimental study,                              different factors that may influence the toughness of SLM
                                                                Charpy tests were done according to ASTM E23 standard                           parts. Only one batch was produced in AISI 316L. In the
                                                                (ASTM, E 23-96). The size of the standard specimen was                          first batch, two-part designs were used to study whether high
                                                                101055 mm, with a notch as defined in the                                     roughness values encountered in SLM cause any notch-
                                                                same standard.                                                                  effect influencing toughness results. Different part designs
                                                                   In this study, the experimental procedure was the same                       used in the experiments are shown in Figure 3a. A part
                                                                for all specimens. First, the samples were made by SLM
                                                                processing (See Figure 2b) and then they were cut off the
                                                                base plate by electro-discharge machining (EDM). Due to
                                                                the process, loose powder that should stay un-molten
                                                                around the scanned contours sometimes melts and sticks
                                                                to the walls. In order to remove these loosely sticking
Downloaded by [New York University] at 02:47 28 November 2013
                                                                                                                           Maraging
                                                                                                  AISI 316 L   Ti-6AI-4V    Steel
                                                                BATCH 1
                                                                SPECIMEN
                                                                           Standard specimen          3            3           3
                                                                 DESIGN
                                                                           Standard specimen                       3          3
                                                                 DESIGN
                                                                           Standard specimen                       6           6
                                                                 DESIGN
                                                                           Building axis                         x-axis      x-axis             Figure 3. (a) Three-part designs produced by SLM to be
                                                                           Heat Treatment                       2-types     2-types             used in Charpy tests; (b) Orientation of a standard part
                                                                           Sand Blasting                          Yes         yes
                                                                           Number of replicates                    3           3
                                                                                                                                                manufactured with the building axis coinciding with the
                                                                                                                                                x-direction.
                                                                      Virtual and Physical Prototyping       93
Downloaded by [New York University] at 02:47 28 November 2013
                                                                3.1 First batch                                                      specimen designs follow the same trend for three materials.
                                                                                                                                     The maraging steel 300 and AISI 316L stainless steel show
                                                                As given in Table 2, none of the specimens were heat treated         more or less similar results, whereas Ti alloy has much less
                                                                after the first batch. In order to check the repeatability of        toughness than steel for both designs.
                                                                the process, three replicates for each specimen design and              The stainless steel specimens have a waved fracture
                                                                material were produced with a building direction parallel to         surface. Figure 7 shows that the waviness is a result of
                                                                the x-axis of the specimen.                                          aligned pores along which the fracture has occurred. Pores
                                                                   The cross-section of the parts is shown in Figure 4. AISI         containing incompletely molten particles are present on all
                                                                316L stainless steel part consists mainly of an austenitic           fracture surfaces, as illustrated in Figure 8.
                                                                phase, as revealed by X-ray diffraction. The cellular micro-            Fracture of the Ti-6Al-4V parts is mainly brittle as
                                                                structure looks similar to the structure obtained after casting      indicated by the minor deformation of the cross-section
                                                                of austenitic stainless steel: delta ferrite in an austenitic        at the position of fracture (see Figure 9). The maraging steel
                                                                matrix. The micro-Vickers hardness (for a load of 0.5 kg) is         parts behave in a more ductile behavior as indicated by the
                                                                23595: The Ti-6Al-4V parts consist of large grains oriented          higher deformation and presence of larger shear lips.
                                                                along the building direction. The elongated grains are the
                                                                result of epitaxial solidification and extend over multiple
                                                                layers. Inside the grains a needle-like martensitic phase,           3.2 Second batch
                                                                which is formed as a result of the rapid solidification, can be
                                                                                                                                     As shown in Table 2, the second batch was performed to
                                                                distinguished instead of the two-phase hcpa and bccb
                                                                                                                                     investigate the effect of the building axis on the Charpy
                                                                structure that would be present in equilibrium conditions.
                                                                                                                                     test results for SLM parts. In order to determine the
                                                                The micro-Vickers hardness is 36995: The structure of the
                                                                                                                                     influence for different notch making methods, all three
                                                                maraging steel parts is mainly a low carbon bcc lath
                                                                martensitic structure. The borders of the melt pools are
                                                                revealed after etching. The micro-Vickers hardness is 37695:
                                                                   The density measurements and Charpy test results are
                                                                presented in Figures 5 and 6, respectively. The results shown
                                                                in all figures are given with a 95% level of confidence. The
                                                                theoretical densities for AISI 316L, Ti6Al4V and the
                                                                maraging steel 300 are taken as 8.0, 4.2 and 8.1 g/cm3,
                                                                respectively. Figure 5 depicts that all specimens have relative
                                                                densities of more than 98.5%.
                                                                   The Charpy test results show that the specimens of the
                                                                same material with and without a notch absorb quite
                                                                different energy values before breakage. For all materials,
                                                                the specimens with a notch have less resistance to breakage
                                                                which means that the high roughness of the SLM process               Figure 6. The Charpy test results for SLM produced parts
                                                                does not behave like stress-concentrating notches. Both              for the first batch.
                                                                                                               Virtual and Physical Prototyping                                               95
                                                                     Figure 7. Cross-section of stainless steel AISI 316L perpendicular to the building direction after Charpy testing.
Downloaded by [New York University] at 02:47 28 November 2013
                                                                specimen designs were produced. Only one specimen was             seems to be the x-axis for the specimens without a notch. It
                                                                manufactured per each case. No heat treatment was                 can be concluded that in the case of a good connection
                                                                applied for Ti alloy, whereas solution annealing followed         between successive layers without any pores, the building
                                                                by aging was applied to maraging steel 300 specimens              axis does not play a significant role in the toughness results.
                                                                since it is a material which is always used with a heat           As also observed from the macro pictures of the broken
                                                                treatment.                                                        surfaces, all specimens made along the x-, y- and z-axes
                                                                   The results derived with the two materials exhibited           have similar brittle fractures. The reason for the low
                                                                similar results to those obtained with the specimens              toughness of the z-specimens made from the Ti alloy can
                                                                produced in the first batch when the same building axis           be attributed to porosity caused by the accidental reduction
                                                                and same design geometries were considered. For the Ti            of laser power (about 5%) during the build of the
                                                                alloy, although the specimens built along the y-axis showed       z-specimens. The protection glass that is located between
                                                                a slightly higher resistance to breakage, the effect of the       the process chamber and the lens became dirty as the
                                                                building axis seemed negligible, as seen in Figure 10. The        build height increased, and this caused the undesired
                                                                same holds true for the maraging steel, the results of which      reduction in the power leaving an extra porosity of 2% in
                                                                are given in Figure 11, where the weakest building direction      the samples.
Figure 9. Top (left) and side (right) view of SLM parts after Charpy testing.
                                                                3.3 Third Batch                                                  Charpy energy after heat treatment at 5958C may be
                                                                                                                                 attributed to the higher amount of less ductile a phase
                                                                The influence of various heat treatments on the toughness
                                                                                                                                 present than after heat treatment at 7358C.
                                                                of the two materials was investigated in this batch. All
                                                                                                                                    For the maraging steel, the applied two heat treatments
                                                                specimens with a standard design were produced along the
                                                                                                                                 decreased the resistance to breakage significantly, as de-
                                                                x-axis with three replicates for each case.
                                                                                                                                 picted in Figure 13. It can also be observed that the amount
                                                                   For the Ti alloy, two different heat treatments were
                                                                                                                                 of plastic deformation is significantly lower than without
                                                                applied. The first one was the full annealing conducted at
                                                                                                                                 heat treatment. The first heat treatment was solution
                                                                7358C for 2 h in a BIP argon furnace. The second heat
                                                                                                                                 annealing at 8158C for 1 h and cooling to room temperature,
                                                                treatment was stress relieving at 5958C for 3 h in an
                                                                                                                                 followed by aging conducted at 4808C for 3 h. The second
                                                                argon atmosphere. The first heat treatment did not
                                                                                                                                 was only aging at 4808C for 3 h. The results also show that
                                                                improve or worsen the toughness of this material, the
                                                                                                                                 solution annealing is not necessary to homogenize the
                                                                hardness was slightly increased (36299): The second heat
                                                                                                                                 microstructure after the SLM process since the results with
                                                                treatment decreased the toughness of the Ti alloy
                                                                                                                                 and without solution annealing were almost the same. The
                                                                slightly and significantly increased the hardness to 38695
                                                                                                                                 hardness increases to 57297 as a result of aging. The
                                                                (see Figure 12). During heat treatment the martensitic
                                                                                                                                 hardening during aging has been attributed in the literature
                                                                structure transforms into a mixture of hexagonal close
                                                                packed a and body centered cubic b phases. The lower
                                                                Figure 10. The Charpy results of the Ti alloy in the second      Figure 11. The Charpy results of the maraging steel 300 in
                                                                batch.                                                           the second batch.
                                                                                                               Virtual and Physical Prototyping                                                                97
                                                                treated (third batch).                                            attributed to the presence of defects like pores, pick-up
                                                                                                                                  of impurities like oxygen and nitrogen (especially for
                                                                to short-range ordering in the cobalt-bearing solid solution      titanium alloys) and the presence of more brittle non-
                                                                and the precipitation of nickel-rich intermetallic compounds      equilibrium phases.
                                                                in the lath martensitic structure (ASM Handbook 1991).               Tests not presented in this paper revealed that the porosity
                                                                X-ray diffraction has revealed that after aging a fcc             of SLM parts is of high importance since it might cause a
                                                                phase appears, which was not present without heat treat-          significant reduction in toughness. Controlling the process in
                                                                ment. In the literature, it is reported that during aging of      terms of density is hence most critical: a slight drop of density
                                                                18 Ni maraging steel, 300 austenite can precipitate and           due to unexpected loss of laser energy (e.g., dirt on optics)
                                                                adversely affect the toughness of the material (ASM               may substantially reduce the toughness (typically 20% for
                                                                Handbook 1991).                                                   less than 1% reduction in density measured with optical
                                                                                                                                  microscopy picture analysis). Testing density should best be
                                                                                                                                  done with different methods since Archimedes’ method may
                                                                                                                                  overestimate the relative density if the pores still contain un-
                                                                4. Comparison of toughness of SLM parts and bulk material
                                                                                                                                  molten powder particles. In terms of stainless steel, a slight
                                                                The toughness of bulk materials is higher than that of            change of alloying element compositions may significantly
                                                                SLM parts. For bulk annealed stainless steels, the impact         reduce the toughness due to undesired phases such as high
                                                                Charpy energy for V-notched parts is generally greater            temperature delta ferrites in the austenite phase. Thus the
                                                                                                                                  material composition should also be strictly determined to
                                                                                                                                  ensure a good repeatability.
                                                                                                                                  5. Conclusions
                                                                                                                                  One of the important conclusions from the experiments
                                                                                                                                  conducted in this study is the fact that the roughness of
SLM Conventional
                                                                SLM parts does not behave like stress-concentrating                              Kruth, J.-P., Vandenbroucke, B., Van Vaerenbergh, J. and Mercelis, P., 2005.
                                                                                                                                                   Benchmarking of different SLS/SLM processes as rapid manufacturing
                                                                notches. The parts without a notch showed significantly
                                                                                                                                                   techniques. In: International Conference Polymers and Moulds Innovations
                                                                higher impact energies compared to specimens with a
                                                                                                                                                   (PMI), 2023 April 2005, Gent, Belgium [CD ROM].
                                                                notch, either made during the SLM process or after SLM                           Miani, F., Kuljanic, E. and Sortino, M., 2001. Modelling the mechanical
                                                                by EDM. This also concludes that the method of                                     properties of direct metal selectively laser sintered parts. In: Proceedings
                                                                production of the notch does not affect the toughness                              of Laser Assisted Net Shape Engineering 3, LANE, 2831 August 2001,
                                                                results. Additionally, the specimens made in the second                            Erlangen, Germany, 383390.
                                                                batch revealed that the building axis does not play an                           Osakada, K. and Shiomi, M., 2006. Flexible manufacturing of metallic
                                                                                                                                                   products by selective laser melting of powder. International Journal of
                                                                important role on the toughness results if the connection
                                                                                                                                                   Machine Tools and Manufacture, 46, 11881193.
                                                                between successive layers is well established without any                        Paul, C.P., Ganesh, P., Mishra, S.K., Bhargava, P., Negi, J. and Nath, A.K.,
                                                                directional porosity.                                                              2007. Investigating laser rapid manufacturing for Inconel-625 compo-
                                                                                                                                                   nents. Optics and Laser Technology, 39, 800805.
                                                                                                                                                 Rombouts, M., 2006. Selective laser sintering/melting of iron-based
                                                                References                                                                         powders. Thesis (PhD), Katholieke Univesiteit Leuven.
                                                                Alloy data sheet: corrosion resistant alloy [online] Available from: http://     Saleh, N., Mansour, S. and Hague, R., 2002. Investigation into the
                                                                  www. kubotametal.com/alloys/corrosion_resistant/CF-3M.pdf.                       mechanical properties of rapid manufacturing materials. In: Proceedings
                                                                Almeida, H.A., Bartolo, P.J. and Ferreira, J.C., 2008. Mechanical                  of Solid Freeform Fabrication Symposium, 57 August 2002, Austin, TX,
                                                                  behavior and vascularisation analysis of tissue engineering scaffolds. In:       USA, 287296 [CD ROM].
Downloaded by [New York University] at 02:47 28 November 2013
                                                                  Virtual and rapid manufacturing. London: Taylor and Francis Group,             Santos, E., Abe, F., Kitamura, Y., Osakada, K. and Shiomi, M., 2002.
                                                                  7180.                                                                           Mechanical properties of pure titanium models processed by selective
                                                                ASM Handbook: Heat treating. Vol. 4, 1991, ISBN 0-87170-379-3.                     laser melting. In: Proceedings of Solid Freeform Fabrication Symposium,
                                                                ASM Handbook: Material selection and design. Vol. 20, 1997, ISBN                   57 August 2002, Austin, TX, USA, 180186 [CD ROM].
                                                                  0-87170-386-6.                                                                 Simchi, A., 2006. Direct laser sintering of metal powders: Mechanism,
                                                                ASTM, E 23-96, Standard test methods for notched bar impact testing of             kinetics and microstructural features. Materials Science and Engineering
                                                                  metallic materials.                                                              A, 428, 148158.
                                                                Brandon, D. and Kaplan, W.D., 2001. Microstructural characterization of          Vandenbroucke, B. and Kruth, J.-P., 2007. Selective Laser melting of
                                                                  materials. 2nd ed. London: John Wiley & Sons.                                    biocompatible metals for rapid manufacturing of medical parts. Rapid
                                                                Hague, R.J., Dickens, P.M., Mansour, S., Saleh, N. and Sun, Z., 2002.              Prototyping Journal, 13 (4), 196203.
                                                                  Design for rapid manufacture. In: Proceedings of the Society of Rapid          Yadroitsev, I., Bertrand, Ph. and Smurov, I., 2007a. Parametric analysis of
                                                                  Manufacturing Engineers’ Rapid Prototyping and Manufacturing Con-                the selective laser melting process. Applied Surface Science, 253, 8064
                                                                  ference, 29 April2 May 2002, Cincinnati, OH, USA [CD ROM].                      8069.
                                                                Kobryn, P.A. and Semiatin, S.L., 2001. Mechanical properties of                  Yadroitsev, I., Thivillon, L., Bertrand, Ph. and Smurov, I., 2007b. Strategy
                                                                  laser-deposited Ti-6Al-4V. In: Proceedings of the Solid Freeform Fabrica-        of manufacturing components with designed internal structure by
                                                                  tion Symposium, 68 August 2001, Austin, TX, USA, 179186 [CD
                                                                                                                                                   selective laser melting of metallic powder. Applied Surface Science, 254,
                                                                  ROM].
                                                                                                                                                   980983.
                                                                Kruth, J.-P., Levy, G., Klocke, F. and Childs, T.H.C., 2007. Consolidation
                                                                  phenomena in laser and powder-bed based layered manufacturing. CIRP
                                                                  Annals Manufacturing Technology, 56 (2), 730759.