Additive manufacturing of Ni62Nb38 metallic glass via laser powder bed fusion

Abstract

The binary Ni62Nb38 bulk metallic glass exhibits attractive mechanical properties like a yield strength of more than 3 GPa and a hardness of more than 900 Vickers. Due to its limited glass forming ability in casting processes, industrial applications of this impressive material are still pending. Additive manufacturing via laser powder bed fusion (PBF-LB/M) can allow to overcome these limitations. Therefore, we present the first PBF-LB/M parameter study on Ni62Nb38. We are able to achieve high densification and almost fully amorphous samples, thereby demonstrating the general applicability of PBF-LB/M to process binary amorphous Ni–Nb alloys. Furthermore, two challenges can be identified, which have to be addressed before additively formed Ni62Nb38 can be considered for commercial use. Future parameter fine-tuning must lead to fully vitrified samples, and one must also find a way to avoid crack formation during processing, which was found to be one of the main issues in the present study.