MiniMelt: An instrument for real-time tracking of electron beam additive manufacturing using synchrotron x-ray techniques.

The development of a sample environment for in situ x-ray characterization during metal Electron Beam Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-EB), called MiniMelt, is presented. The design considerations, the features of the equipment, and its implementation at the synchrotron facility PETRA III at Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, Hamburg, Germany, are described. The equipment is based on the commercially available Freemelt ONE PBF-EB system but has been customized with a unique process chamber to enable real-time synchrotron measurements during the additive manufacturing process. Furthermore, a new unconfined powder bed design to replicate the conditions of the full-scale PBF-EB process is introduced. The first radiography (15 kHz) and diffraction (1 kHz) measurements of PBF-EB with a hot-work tool steel and a Ni-base superalloy, as well as bulk metal melting with the CMSX-4 alloy, using the sample environment are presented. MiniMelt enables time-resolved investigations of the dynamic phenomena taking place during multi-layer PBF-EB, facilitating process understanding and development of advanced process strategies and materials for PBF-EB.

Extreme conditions research using the large-volume press at the P61B endstation, PETRA III.

Penetrating, high-energy synchrotron X-rays are in strong demand, particularly for high-pressure research in physics, chemistry and geosciences, and for materials engineering research under less extreme conditions. A new high-energy wiggler beamline P61 has been constructed to meet this need at PETRA III in Hamburg, Germany. The first part of the paper offers an overview of the beamline front-end components and beam characteristics. The second part describes the performance of the instrumentation and the latest developments at the P61B endstation. Particular attention is given to the unprecedented high-energy photon flux delivered by the ten wigglers of the PETRA III storage ring and the challenges faced in harnessing this amount of flux and heat load in the beam. Furthermore, the distinctiveness of the world's first six-ram Hall-type large-volume press, Aster-15, at a synchrotron facility is described for research with synchrotron X-rays. Additionally, detection schemes, experimental strategies and preliminary data acquired using energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction and radiography techniques are presented.