Binder jetting is a promising 3D printing technology that employs a liquid binder to selectively attach the particles of a pulverised material to form three-dimensional objects. It is also a popular technique for fabricating ceramics, as it permits the creation of intricate geometries and customised shapes that would be hard or impossible to achieve using conventional ceramic manufacturing techniques. This study focuses on the capabilities of some of the most essential ceramic materials, such as alumina, SiC, and calcium phosphate, to construct complicated geometries with a high level of accuracy and precision when using a process called binder jetting. These ceramic components find widespread usage in a broad variety of applications, including those relating to aircraft, biomedical, and industry.

A comparative evaluation of the influence of welding current on Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding and Activated Tungsten Inert Gas (ATIG) welding on the depth of penetration and microstructure properties was performed. Various super duplex stainless steel (SDSS) beads on plate weld joints were studied. Visual observation showed that lower welding current resulted in partial weld penetration in the case of both TIG and ATIG weldments. Weld joints obtained by the ATIG process have a higher depth of penetration and depth/width ratios than weld joints obtained in the conventional TIG process at comparatively lower welding currents. Further, microstructural characterizations were performed using optical microscopy. The weld zone microstructure consists of grain boundary austenite (GBA), widmanstätten austenite (WA) and intragranular austenite (IGA). Ferrite percentage in bulk material and each weldment was measured using ferrite scope. The TIG-welded heat affected zone (HAZ) joints showed higher ferrite content than activated flux TIG-welded HAZ joints for various welding current conditions. Ferrite content measured in the weld-zone, HAZ and base material was within the ranges of the standard values. The TIG weld zone showed higher hardness than that of the ATIG weld zone.

Friction surfacing (FS) is a solid-state process for depositing metallurgically bonded coatings for corrosion and wear protection. It is particularly attractive for depositing coatings in materials that are difficult to fusion deposit. Stellite 6 is one such material, which is widely used as a protective coating on steel structures to combat wear and corrosion. In the current study, Stellite 6 was successfully friction-surfaced on low carbon steel plates without using any preheating. The microstructures and wear behavior of Stellite 6 coatings produced using FS were comparatively investigated with those produced using the plasma transferred arc (PTA) process. The PTA coatings showed a cast microstructure consisting of γ-dendrites and an inter-dendritic carbide network. On the other hand, the FS coatings showed a wrought microstructure with dynamically recrystallized grains and fine, uniformly distributed carbide particles. The FS coatings also showed uniform composition across the coating thickness and were undiluted, while the PTA coatings showed significant dilution as well as strong local variations in chemistry. The FS coatings exhibited a 22% increase in hardness (550 HV) compared to the PTA coatings (450 HV). Pin-on-disc dry sliding wear tests showed that the FS coatings (1.205 mm³) were more wear resistant compared to the PTA coatings (6.005 mm³), highlighting their superior mechanical performance. This study uniquely demonstrates the feasibility of depositing Stellite 6 coatings using FS without the need for preheating or post-deposition heat treatments, while achieving superior microstructural refinement, hardness, and wear resistance compared to conventional PTA coatings.