Conventionally, metal materials are produced by subtractive manufacturing followed by melting. However, there has been an increasing interest in additive manufacturing, especially metal 3D printing technology, which is relatively inexpensive because of the absence of complicated processing steps. In this study, we focus on the effect of varying powder size on the synthesis quality, and suggest optimum process conditions for the preparation of AlCrFeNi high-entropy alloy powder. The SEM image of the as-fabricated specimens show countless, fine, as-synthesized powders. Furthermore, we have examined the phase and microstructure before and after 3D printing, and found that there are no noticeable changes in the phase or microstructure. However, it was determined that the larger the powder size, the better the Vickers hardness of the material. This study sheds light on the optimization of process conditions in the metal 3D printing field.

The microstructural evolution and modulation of mechanical properties were investigated for a Ti65Fe35 hypereutectic alloy by addition of Bi53In47 eutectic alloys. The microstructure of these alloys changed with the additional Bi- In elements from a typical dendrite-eutectic composite to a bimodal eutectic structure with primary dendrite phases. In particular, the primary dendrite phase changed from a TiFe intermetallic compound into a β-Ti solid solution despite their higher Fe content. Compressive tests at room temperature demonstrated that the yield strength slightly decreased but the plasticity evidently increased with an increasing Bi-In content, which led to the formation of a bimodal eutectic structure (β-Ti/TiFe + β- Ti/BiIn containing phase). Furthermore, the (Ti65Fe35)95(Bi53In47)5 alloy exhibited optimized mechanical properties with high strength (1319MPa) and reasonable plasticity (14.2%). The results of this study indicate that the transition of the eutectic structure, the type of primary phases and the supersaturation in the β-Ti phase are crucial factors for controlling the mechanical properties of the ultrafine dendrite-eutectic composites.

Porous metallic glass compact (PMGC) are developed by electro-discharge sintering (EDS) process of gas atomized Zr41.2Ti13.8Cu12.5Ni10Be22.5 metallic glass powder under of 0.2 kJ generated by a 450 μF capacitor being charged to 0.94 kV. Functional iron-oxides are formed and growth on the surface of PMGCs via hydrothermal synthesis. It is carried out at 150oC for 48hr with distilled water of 100 mL containing Fe ions of 0.18 g/L. Consequently, two types of iron oxides with different morphology which are disc-shaped Fe2O3 and needle-shaped Fe3O4 are successfully formed on the surface of the PMGCs. This finding suggests that PMGC witih hydrothermal technique can be attractive for the practical technology as a new area of structural and functional materials. And they provide a promising road map for using the metallic glasses as a potential functional application.