There are different types of 3D printing according to different materials, among which metal powder is one of the main raw materials for 3D printing, and high-purity metal powder needs to be used as the raw material. The relevant parameters of the powder, such as chemical composition, particle shape, particle size and distribution, flowability, etc., have a great impact on the quality of 3D printing. Titanium and titanium alloy materials, with their unique properties, can be prepared into powders that meet the requirements of 3D printing metal materials, but the difficulty of preparation is also high. At present, the main mature technologies for preparing 3D printed titanium alloy powder include plasma rotating electrode method, plasma wire material, and gas atomization method.

The products produced by 3D printing of titanium alloy powder have the advantages of high hardness, low thermal expansion coefficient, and good corrosion resistance.

Comparison of Three Main Preparation Methods for Titanium Alloy Powder 

1.1 Plasma Rotating Electrode Method This preparation method uses electrodes made of metal or alloy, and the end face is heated by an arc to melt into a liquid. Under the action of its own high-speed centrifugal force, the liquid is thrown out and crushed into small droplets, and then condensed into powder. This process can adjust the electrode speed to control the powder particle size and is one of the ideal ways to obtain spherical powder. It has the characteristics of high sphericity, good powder flowability, high loading density, and smooth surface. The printing process control is reliable, and it is not easy to produce defects such as precipitated gases and cracks. However, due to the limitation of centrifugal speed, the titanium alloy powder produced has a coarser particle size and a relatively concentrated particle size distribution range, resulting in higher costs and lower productivity.

1.2 Plasma wire atomization method This preparation method uses different alloy wires as raw materials and processes them into spherical powders. It was first independently developed by a Canadian company and has independently manufactured equipment, which has a certain influence in the industry. The spherical powder produced by this technology has the advantages of high powder yield, low impurities, and high work efficiency, making it suitable for the development of titanium alloy powder. However, there are also trace amounts of "satellite balls" and very little adhesion phenomenon, which have little effect on the performance of use.1.3 Gas Atomization Method Gas atomization method is a method that uses high-speed airflow to crush metal liquid flow, rapidly solidify and form powder. This method only needs to overcome the intermolecular forces between liquid metal atoms to disperse it. Basically, any material that can form a liquid can be atomized. Currently, vacuum atomization method and inert gas atomization method are widely used. The titanium alloy powder prepared by gas atomization method has the characteristics of rapid solidification, no hollow particles, and good sphericity, but the powder yield is low and the production cost is high. At present, most of the atomization technology used in China to produce titanium and titanium alloy powders has a low powder yield.

Comparison of Different Preparation Processes The above-mentioned methods for preparing spherical titanium and titanium alloy powders are currently the mainstream direction of research and production experiments at home and abroad. The first method has low equipment cost and produces titanium alloy powders with good sphericity, but the resulting powder particle size is relatively coarse. This can be controlled by adjusting parameters to control the particle size. The third type of alloy powder has good sphericity and small particle size, and there are also many types of preparation, but the domestic application technology is not yet very mature. The gas atomization method produces fine powder particles with low oxygen content and no special requirements for raw materials, but the production cost is relatively high.

Several preparation methods have their own advantages and disadvantages. After analysis and comparison, the plasma rotating electrode method was selected for atomization preparation of titanium alloy powder, and the effect was significant.

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