Additive Manufacturing of Pure Tungsten and Tungsten Heavy Alloys-State-of-the-Art Processes

Abstract

The process of printing components layer by layer is additive manufacturing, which has brought about a paradigm shift in the design, production, and distribution of goods to consumers. Metal additive manufacturing has executed an industry-changing manufacturing production strategy. In the current review article, the printability of tungsten and tungsten alloys are summarized by examining several crucial parameters, viz, scanning strategy, volumetric energy density, and particle morphology. The high melting point of tungsten renders its melting through conventional casting extremely challenging. Traditional manufacturing methods have been employed for quite some time to address these challenges. In this article, only additive manufacturing techniques are surveyed. Powder bed fusion, directed energy deposition, and binder jetting are revolutionary production methodologies employed for most of the research on the 3D printing of tungsten and its alloys. Only a few articles regarding the printability of 3D parts produced from tungsten-heavy alloys are available. This review probes deeper into the impact of process conditions on the balling phenomenon, the attained relative density, and the propensity for cracking in pure tungsten and its alloys.

Graphical abstract