Fabrication of directional solidification components of nickel-base superalloys by laser metal forming

Straight plates, hollow columns, ear-like blade tips, twist plates with directional solidification microstructure made of Rene 95 superalloys were successfully fabricated on Nickel-base superalloy and DD3 substrates, respectively. The processing conditions for production of the parts with corresponding shapes were obtained. The fabrication precision was high and the components were compact. The solidification microstructure of the parts was analyzed by optical microscopy. The results show that the solidification microstructure is composed of columnar dendrites, by epitaxial growth onto the directional solidification substrates. The crystallography orientation of the parts was parallel to that of the substrates. The primary arm spacing was about 10 μm, which is in the range of superfine dendrites, and the secondary arm was small or even degenerated. It is concluded that the laser metal forming technique provides a method to manufacture directional solidification components.