Influence of stress-relieving heat treatments on the efficacy of Co-Cr-Mo-W alloy copings fabricated using selective laser melting.

Purpose This study aimed to evaluate the influence of stress-relieving heat treatments on the metal-ceramic bond strength and fitness accuracy of selective laser melting (SLM)-fabricated Co-Cr alloy copings.Methods SLM-manufactured Co-Cr samples were stress-relieved at 750 (Ht-750) and 1150 °C (Ht-1150). The microstructure, surface roughness, metal-ceramic bond strength, marginal and internal fit, Vickers hardness, and residual stress were then compared with those of the non-heat-treated group (As-built). The results were analyzed using one-way ANOVA and post-hoc tests (Tukey's or Student's t test) (P = 0.05).Results The microstructure of the Ht-1150 samples had a brittle oxide layer and lower surface roughness, resulting in significantly lower bond strength values than those of the other groups. The As-built group exhibited significantly lower marginal gap values than the Ht-750 and Ht-1150 groups. Therefore, the post-heat treatments degraded the marginal fitness. The surface residual stress in all sample groups were compressive because of the sandblasting effect. The compressive stresses were larger in Ht-1150 than in As-built and Ht-750 owing to their low hardness values.Conclusions Stress-relief annealing porcelain-fused-to-metal single crowns does not improve bond strength and degrades fitness accuracy because additional post-heat treatments induce thermal distortion. These findings are expected to facilitate the direct application of As-built SLM single crowns in dentistry to minimize post-manufacturing costs and time.

Reduction in anisotropic response of corrosion properties of selective laser melted Co-Cr-Mo alloys by post-heat treatment.

OBJECTIVES: The application of selective laser melting (SLM) to dentistry has been rapidly expanding; however, SLM-processed parts possess orientation-dependent properties (i.e., anisotropy) that can affect the long-term reliability of the dental prostheses. This study aimed to evaluate the anisotropic corrosion response of SLM-processed Co-Cr-Mo alloys under various heat treatments. METHODS: Samples fabricated via SLM along the horizontal plane (x-y plane) and vertical plane (x-z plane), with respect to the build direction, were subjected to various heat treatments. The resulting microstructures of the samples were characterized, and their corrosion properties were evaluated using anodic polarization and immersion tests. RESULTS: All samples showed similar transpassive behavior of the polarization curves. However, the immersion tests showed that the as-built x-z plane samples released significantly more metal ions than those fabricated on the x-y plane because of the larger area of preferentially corroded molten pool boundaries (MPBs) in the x-z plane samples. Our results further demonstrated that the heat treatments eliminated the MPBs, resulting in isotropic corrosion properties. However, excessive heat treatment at high temperatures induces the formation of coarse precipitates, resulting in a less-protective passive film. SIGNIFICANCE: The post-build heat treatments at temperatures that eliminate the MPBs are effective in reducing anisotropic corrosion behavior, and the lowest possible temperature is suitable for reducing the amount of released metal ions. These findings are expected to facilitate the application of SLM in dentistry to allow fast and precise production of prosthetic devices.

Effect of heat treatment on the anisotropic microstructural and mechanical properties of Co-Cr-Mo alloys produced by selective laser melting.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of heat treatment on the anisotropy of the microstructure and mechanical properties of cobalt-chromium-molybdenum (Co-Cr-Mo) alloys fabricated by selective laser melting (SLM). Dumbbell samples were fabricated with the axes deviating from the build direction by 0° (0°-sample), 45° (45°-sample), or 90° (90°-sample) and were subjected to heat treatment at various temperatures (750, 900, 1050, or 1150 °C) for 6 h. In samples heat-treated at 750, 900, and 1050 °C, the microstructures exhibited columnar grains with a <001> fiber texture along the build direction, the same as in the as-built state. The mechanical properties showed anisotropy; the 0.2% offset yield strengths (YS) of the 0°-samples were lower than those of the 90°-samples, and the elongations of the 0°-samples were significantly higher than those of the 45°- and 90°-samples. By contrast, in samples heated to 1150 °C for 6 h, the anisotropic columnar grains completely disappeared, and equiaxed grains with random orientations were found in all samples, indicating that recrystallization had occurred. Moreover, the specific microstructures and texture generated during SLM disappeared. Regarding tensile properties, the initially strong anisotropy exhibited by the as-SLM samples was significantly reduced. Thus, heat treatment at the recrystallization temperature produced uniform equiaxed grains with random texture, which contributed to reducing the mechanical anisotropy of the SLMed Co-Cr-Mo alloys.

Fatigue properties of removable partial denture clasps fabricated by selective laser melting followed by heat treatment.

The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of post-heat treatment on the microstructures and fatigue strengths of Co-Cr-Mo (CCM) clasps prepared by selective laser melting (SLM). Clasp specimens and rod-shaped specimens were fabricated by SLM using CCM powders with different angulations (0°, 45°, and 90°). Two heat treatment conditions were used: 1 and 6 h at 1150 °C in an argon atmosphere followed by cooling in a furnace. Subsequently, the fatigue strength and microstructure were investigated. The results revealed that for the control group, the mean fatigue life was different when building angulations were changed as manifested by the control-90 specimen, which exhibited the highest fatigue life, followed by control-45 and then control-0. One-hour heat treated samples showed higher fatigue strength in all axes than the 0°- and 45°-axes control samples and lower fatigue strength than the 90°-axes control samples. The survival rate after heat treatment for 1 h exhibited no significant difference in all the axes. In terms of microstructure, after heat treatment, the samples showed homogeneous equiaxed grain and randomized texture in all angulations. Therefore, using a post-heat treatment can reduce the anisotropy effect on the microstructure and fatigue strength due to homogenized microstructure.