Selective laser melting of stainless steel 316L with low porosity and high build rates

The present study employs fast scanning speeds to fabricate high-density stainless steel 316L (SS316L) parts via selective laser melting (SLM). It aims to improve the production rate while maintaining a low porosity for the SLM-built parts. Density values of >99% were recorded for all the fabrica...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Materials & design 2016-08, Vol.104, p.197-204
Main Authors: Sun, Zhongji, Tan, Xipeng, Tor, Shu Beng, Yeong, Wai Yee
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Additive manufacturing
Austenitic stainless steels
Construction
Density
Heat resistant steels
Laser beam melting
Lasers
Microhardness
Microstructure
Porosity
Scanning
Selective laser melting
Stainless steel 316L
Transmission electron microscopy
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Summary:The present study employs fast scanning speeds to fabricate high-density stainless steel 316L (SS316L) parts via selective laser melting (SLM). It aims to improve the production rate while maintaining a low porosity for the SLM-built parts. Density values of >99% were recorded for all the fabricated samples in this study. The scanning speed of the laser could be much improved due to the use of 380W power laser. The overall build rate in this study is supposed to be enhanced by ~72% as compared to commonly used processing parameters. Detailed microstructural characterization was carried out in order to obtain an in-depth understanding of the microstructure of SLM-built SS316L. The microhardness of built parts is between 213 and 220HV, which is much higher than that of the standard annealed counterpart of ~155HV. This study provides an insight on how to improve SLM build rates without any loss of parts' density and mechanical properties. [Display omitted] •High-density SS316L parts were successfully built via SLM.•Build rate was significantly improved without sacrificing parts' density.•The relationship between microstructure and microhardness was investigated.•An alternative way to develop SLM processing parameters for new materials was suggested.
ISSN:0264-1275
1873-4197
DOI:10.1016/j.matdes.2016.05.035