Feasibility of in situ controlled heat treatment (ISHT) of Inconel 718 during electron beam melting additive manufacturing

A novel technique was developed to control the microstructure evolution in Alloy 718 processed using Electron Beam Melting (EBM). In situ solution treatment and aging of Alloy 718 was performed by heating the top surface of the build after build completion scanning an electron beam to act as a planar heat source during the cool down process. Results demonstrate that the measured hardness (478 ± 7 HV) of the material processed using in situ heat treatment similar to that of peak-aged Inconel 718. Large solidification grains and cracks formed, which are identified as the likely mechanism leading to failure of tensile tests of the in situ heat treatment material under loading. Despite poor tensile performance, the technique proposed was shown to successively age Alloy 718 (increase precipitate size and hardness) without removing the sample from the process chamber, which can reduce the number of process steps in producing a part. Tighter controls on processing temperature during layer melting to lower process temperature and selective heating during in situ heat treatment to reduce over-sintering are proposed as methods for improving the process.