Ti6Al7Nb Alloy Laser Micromachining-Surface Properties

The paper presents results of the studies concerning Ti6Al7Nb titanium alloy surface laser machining. Due to its properties, the alloy is applied in medicine, among other things for hip joint endoprosthesis. Such application imposes special requirements as to surface condition. Laser TruMicro 5000 model 5325c was used for machining purposes that emits ultraviolet radiation (wavelength 343 nm) within picosecond pulses. Laser such as this is especially useful for creating surface structures (surface texture). It enables subtractive manufacturing using the ablation effect. The paper includes physical basics of laser micromachining, impact of gaseous shield, methodology of process parameters selection, change of a microstructure, microhardness and chemical composition within the machined zone. Moreover, laser surface texturing impact on corrosion resistance is studied. The result of this work is identification of micromachining parameters that ensure ablative process course and texture parameters that guarantee the most favourable utility properties.