This study aims to investigate additively manufactured Ti6242S specimens compared with the widely used Ti64 alloy with a special focus on microstructure and mechanical properties as well as the impact of subsequent heat treatments. As the Ti6242S alloy, which belongs to the family of near‐α Ti‐alloys, is often used at higher service temperatures, uniaxial tensile tests are performed at a room temperature up to 500 °C. By means of optical and electron microscopy, it is found that the as‐built microstructure consists of acicular α′ martensite, which decomposes to α + β during the subsequent heat treatment. A special focus on the prior microstructure shows that the Ti6242S alloy has a small β grain size, which influences the resulting α′ microstructure after the β → α′ phase transformation. Furthermore, the mechanical properties at room temperature as well as elevated temperatures exceed the values for selective laser melted Ti64 and conventionally cast Ti6242 material. The heat‐treated Ti6242S specimens exhibit an ultimate tensile strength of about 1213 MPa including a ductility of 11.3% at room temperature. These values may path the way to a substitution of the widely used Ti64 alloy by the near‐α Ti6242S alloy, especially for highly loaded components at elevated temperatures.

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The increasing demands for Al sheets with superior mechanical properties and excellent formability require a profound knowledge of the microstructure and texture evolution in the course of their production. The present study gives a comprehensive overview on the primary- and secondary phase formation in AlMg(Mn) alloys with varying Fe and Mn additions, including variations in processing parameters such as solidification conditions, homogenization temperature, and degree of cold rolling. Higher Fe alloying levels increase the primary phase fraction and favor the needle-shaped morphology of the constituent phases. Increasing Mn additions alter both the shape and composition of the primary phase particles, but also promote the formation of dispersoids as secondary phases. The size, morphology, and composition of primary and secondary phases is further affected by the processing parameters. The average dispersoid size increases significantly with higher homogenization temperature and large primary particles tend to fragment during cold rolling. The microstructures of the final soft annealed states reflect the important effects of the primary and secondary phase particles on their evolution. The results presented in this paper regarding the relevant secondary phases provide the basis for an in-depth discussion of the mechanisms underlying the microstructure formation, such as Zener pinning, particle stimulated nucleation, and texture evolution, which is presented in Part II of this study.