This master thesis is a small part of the research project " 4100225--ADAPT-PBF-EB Advanced Process Development of Electron Beam Melting for Titanium Applications". The different defects generated during electron beam melting (PBF-EB) additive manufacturing build process, could be detrimental to the built part. This report covers the hardness measurement of a powder bed fusion electron beam manufactured Ti-6Al-4V with varying contour settings.

To study the impact of contour settings on the resulting hardness, a series of 18 Ti-6Al-4V specimens were manufactured using different contour settings (CO: Contour overlapping, EC: Extra contour, SC: Standard contour, CL: Hatch first & contour last and Hatch first (CL.O) + Trick heat (TH) + Contour last (CL.1).

Vickers hardness testing was used to measure the hardness of the samples. This method involves applying a controlled force to the samples, measuring the resulting indentation, comparing the results for likely variations and along with the samples' microstructure observed by the optical microscope at the near surface. The recorded highest mean hardness of the tested samples corresponds to the CL contour settings.

The hardness can vary when Ti-6Al-4V is made using PBF-EB depending on the energy absorbed. The beam current and scan speed are influenced by the intricate interplay between the electrons within the beam and the atoms constituting the material. PBF-EB built Ti-6Al-4V displays a wide range of hardness depending on the circumstances. The measured mean hardness of PBF-EB Ti-6Al-4V ranged from 346.8 to 359.8 HV. Indentation applied on the same specimen at different loads shows that the hardness increases as the indentation load decreases. The α-lath in the contour region, which is of α-phase grains, shows some trend but has no significant variation with the hardness value in this study. From the analysis, the various contour settings of PBF-EB Ti-6Al-4V observed have no influence on the hardness value.