Patent ID: 7815847

Claim:
A process for the mass production of three-dimensional articles made of an intermetallic compound based on titanium and aluminium by electron beam melting, comprising the steps of: a) generating a three-dimensional mathematical model of said articles and storing it in a control unit; b) preparing the powders of said intermetallic compound with a same chemical composition as a final intermetallic compound with which said articles are produced; c) laying down a quantity of said powders in a melting chamber to form a layer of powders with a regular and substantially uniform thickness; d) preheating said layer of powders laid down in said melting chamber to a temperature below the melting point of said powders; e) performing melting by scanning with a focused electron beam in the area corresponding to a cross section of said articles according to the three-dimensional model stored in said control unit; f) taking the upper surface of the last cross section of said articles thus formed to the level of the powders located in said melting chamber and which are laid down around the portions already formed of said articles; g) repeating said steps from c) to f) until reaching the last cross section of said articles according to the three-dimensional model stored in said control unit, said powders being powders of an intermetallic compound based on titanium and aluminium with the same chemical composition as the final intermetallic compound with which said articles are produced; and h) performing a final cooling step of said articles at an end of their formation in an inert gas atmosphere, the cooling step being performed by feeding the inert gas into the melting chamber once a temperature of the articles has dropped below about 1200° C.