COMPARISON BETWEEN LASER ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING AND LASER SPOT WELDING OF TITANIUM GRADE 2

The microstructure and hardness of the melted area in a titanium grade 2 sample processed by Laser Spot Welding were compared to those processed by Selective Laser Melting. The results show that the materials obtained with the two processes have very similar characteristics. On the basis of what had been observed, it can be inferred that the Laser Spot Welding technique could be a low-cost way to verify the possibility of obtaining the desired properties with new alloys processed by Selective Laser Melting.