Ti6Al4V Components by Bound Metal Deposition and Competitive with Metal Injection Molded Parts: Optimization of the Printing Parameters

Bound metal deposition (BMD) is a valid 3D printing solution from an economic perspective. Still, the resulting mechanical properties are intrinsically lower than selective laser melting and electron beam melting ones and, in some cases, are also lower than metal injection molding (MIM). The optimization of the printing parameters is fundamental to level off this issue and to ensure mechanical performance competitive with MIM ones. In light of this, the present work focuses, for the first time, on the optimization of the printing parameters for a Ti6Al4V alloy. The effect of three fundamental parameters, that is, layer thickness, nozzle temperature, and printing speed, is investigated, and the 3D printing process is optimized by exploiting the design of experiment and the surface response analysis techniques. The results are extremely auspicious, considering that the optimum configurations display a tensile strength of 915 MPa, which is perfectly comparable with MIM components. The statistical analysis demonstrates that nozzle temperature, printing speed, and their interaction are the most relevant parameters and the 3D printing optimum is achieved with a nozzle temperature of 160 °C and a printing speed of 15mm s-1.