Quality of weld bead in laser metal deposition of titanium wire using pulsed laser

This study focuses on laser metal deposition of wire (LMD-w) using a pulsed laser for titanium, addressing the influence of technological parameters on geometry and porosity. This paper investigates the impact of process parameters, such as wire feed rate, machine feed rate, pulse frequency, and pulse length, on the geometry and porosity of titanium wire deposited using the LMD-w process. The parameters were systematically altered, and the geometry and porosity were evaluated using visual inspection, 3D scanning, and X-ray computed tomography. The results indicate that the technological parameters affect the geometry of the weld bead and impact the amount of porosity. Increasing the wire feed rate results in a higher bead, but also greater porosity and not acceptable geometry of bead by visual inspection. Pulse energy has great influence on weld bead width. With greater pulse energy the weld bead is wider, but the porosity is also higher. With increasing feed rate, the height of the bead decreases and porosity also increases. This investigation provides valuable insights into the LMD-w process, laying the groundwork for further optimization of additive manufacturing processes.