Mid Sweden University

Electron beam melting (EBM) is one of the constantly developing powder bed fusion (PBF) additive manufacturing technologies (AM) offering advanced control over the manufacturing process. Freedom of component shapes is one of the AM competitive advantages already used at industrial and semi- industrial scale. Development of the additive manufacturing today is targeting both widening of the available materials classes, and introducing new enabling modalities. Present research is related to the new possibilities in tailoring different material properties within additively manufactured components effectively adding “fourth dimension to the 3D-printing”. Specific examples are given in relation to the electron beam melting, but majority of the conclusions are valid for the laser-based PBF techniques as well. Through manipulating beam energy deposition it is possible to tailor quite different material properties selectively within each manufactured component, including effective material density as well as thermal, mechanical, electrical and acoustic properties. It is also possible to acquire by choice both metal-metal composite and completely alloyed material, when blends of precursor powder are used together with the beam energy manipulation.