Micro-scale finishing of the surface and form of a Ti-6Al-4V lightweight rotor obtained by laser powder bed fusion used for air bearing

The European Organisation for Nuclear Research, CERN, is in the process of designing and testing parts for the next generation of linear accelerators. In order to operate the experiments, the pre-alignment precision of the components of the two opposing accelerating complexes has placed increased demands on part tolerances, which are now approaching the micrometre. In order to meet these demanding requirements, improvements are necessary to the build processes, machining parameters and post-manufacture characterisation stages. One of the most promising methods for the production of these parts is Laser Powder Bed Fusion, and as such, this paper focuses on the manufacture of the lightweight air bearing rotor component and the micro-scale tolerance machining required by this part. The results demonstrate that despite being able to initially machine the part to a form tolerance approaching 2 μm, subsequent notch cutting and the release of residual stresses from the part obtained by Laser Powder Bed Fusion induces an 18 μm part misalignment which is larger than the tolerance limits of 5 μm required for operation. This demonstrates that further minimisation and understanding of the residual stresses induced during machining are required to facilitate the effective manufacture of high precision components of this type.