Short Circuiting Transfer, Formation, and Microstructure of Ti-6Al-4V Alloy by External Longitudinal Magnetic Field Hybrid Metal Inert Gas Welding Additive Manufacturing

In this work, the external longitudinal magnetic field hybrid metal inert gas welding (M-MIG) additive manufacturing method is employed to produce the Ti-6Al-4V alloy part. The effect of process parameters on the droplet transfer formation and microstructure of the part was studied by a high-speed camera, optical microscope, and electron backscattered diffraction. The results showed that a typical short-circuiting transfer was obtained with the wire feeding speed of 2 m/min–4 m/min. An external longitudinal magnetic field had an obvious effect on the arc shape. The uniform formation of the deposition layer was obtained with the wire feeding speed of 4 m/min. The width of M-MIG deposition layer was greater than that of the MIG, and the width of M-MIG deposition layer was increased with the increase of the magnetic excitation current. The microstructure of the deposition layer was mainly comprised of acicular martensite α’ and massive martensite α_m. In addition, the β grain size in the M-MIG was less than that of the MIG. The average microhardness of the MIG deposition layer was 281.6 HV, which was less than that of M-MIG.