A review on various approaches of 3D printing of Ti-Alloy

The demand for 3D metal components with complex shape and high quality with timely delivery is the focus for the development of additive manufacturing known as 3D printing. 3D metal printing is becoming very popular day by day among manufacturing industries, young engineers and "startups" due to the flexibility of realization of ideas. 3D metal printing is growing into a revolutionary technology in today's world due to application in various industries such as aerospace, biomedical and automotive sectors etc. Fabrication and development of net-shape metallic components of complex geometric shape is the key strength of 3D metal printing where layer-by-layer metal powder is deposited from a 3D printer through computer-aided design. Powder metallurgy is the traditional method to fabricate titanium alloy whereas laser additive manufacturing is the emerging technology now-a-days. The advantage of 3D metal printing of titanium-based components is light in weight, cost effective approach and reduces material loss. The growth of last ten-year's data shows the emerging trends of 3D printing as future disruptive technology with application in every field of life such as food, cloths, machines, building, biomedical implants and even human body parts. This paper overviews on various approaches to 3D printing of Titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V) on recent development with fabrication method, limitations and application and finally summarizes the findings. It is evident from the observations that the 3D printed titanium alloys produced through laser melting yields higher strength and yield point compared to conventional methods. Finally, further research in 3D metal printing has been presented.