In-situ TiB/near α Ti matrix composites manufactured by selective laser melting

TiB reinforced near α Ti-matrix composite was fabricated in this work using selective laser melting from a mixture of CrB2 and commercially pure Ti powders. The corresponding composites present an almost fully dense structure for suitable laser energy density conditions. The X-ray diffraction and microstructure analysis indicate that the TiB and β-Ti phase appears for parts obtained with a low scanning speed of the laser beam. The parts obtained at high and low scanning speeds show higher hardness and lower wear rate than those obtained for intermediate scanning speed which, on the contrary, show the highest density. The wear behavior of the as-processed parts is compared with that of pure Ti parts also obtained by selective laser melting.