Scanning electron beam treatment of Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy produced by casting and EBM processes

The results obtained by studying the surface morphology, microstructure and microhardness of Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy subjected to scanning electron beam treatment are discussed. It is shown that the surface of titanium parts produced by electron beam melting followed by scanning electron beam post-treatment becomes smoother as compared with the surface of the as-build parts. The occurrence of the martensite α'-phase in the structure of melted surface layer of both Ti-6Al-4V titanium cast alloy and EBM-printed Ti-6Al-4V parts subjected to scanning electron beam treatment is discussed. The latter results in increase the microhardness of the samples under study.