Rapid Prototyping of Aluminium Alloy Parts: The Effect of Infiltration Atmosphere

Abstract:

An investigation has been made on the infiltration behaviour in rapid prototyping of Al alloy parts under different infiltration atmospheres. An Al 6061 alloy preform was first prepared by selective laser sintering. Then the aluminium precursor powders in the preform were converted into AlN to form a skeletal AlN structure, which was subsequently pressureless infiltrated with a molten Al 6061 alloy under nitrogen, argon or vacuum. The pathway of the infiltrant was determined by density measurements in conjunction with metallographic examination and quantitative image analysis. Detailed comparison of the microstructures at the surface and the centre of the as-infiltrated samples indicates that the pathway into the porous preform is dependent on the infiltration atmosphere. Under vacuum, the infiltrant fills the interior of the preform first and then propagates to the surface. In contrast, under nitrogen or argon, the infiltrant penetrates along the surface prior to filling the interior.