Wetting state of 3D printed Ti-6Al-4V alloy surface

3D printing plays an important role in manufacturing of parts. Recent developments in 3D printing technology enable to print various shapes, sizes, and functional surfaces. The printed surfaces can have texture topology, which enables changing wetting state from hydrophilic to hydrophobic. This requires proper setting of printing parameters. In the present study, 3D printing of samples from titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V) is carried out. The resulting surface topology is examined using the analytical tools. The wetting state of 3D printed sample surfaces is assessed incorporating the contact angle method. The surface free energy of the printed samples is determined adopting the liquid contact angle technique. It is found that printed surfaces possess hydrophobic wetting state with droplet contact angle of 135° ± 5°. The droplet contact angle hysteresis is of the order of 36°, which causes pinning of the droplet on the surface. The surface free energy is determined as 54.2 mJ/m².