Manufacturing three-dimensional nickel titanium articles using layer-by-layer laser-melting technology

Specific features of layer-by-layer synthesis of three-dimensional (3D) nickel titanium (NiTi, nitinol) articles by selective laser melting (SLM) technology have been studied. Nonporous 3D nitinol articles have been obtained for the first time in a single technological cycle. A necessary condition was that the NiTi powder medium was heated to 500°C during sintering. The structure and composition of intermetallic phases in SLM-synthesized samples have been studied by optical metallography, microhardness measurements, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and energy-dispersive x-ray analysis techniques. Optimum SLM regimes for manufacturing NiTi articles and promising medical applications of this material are considered. © 2013 Pleiades Publishing, Ltd.