Direct Metal Laser Sintering of stainless steel alloy: microstructure and mechanical properties

Abstract

Additive manufacturing (AM) is a type of manufacturing technologies whereby the material is added a layer upon layer to produce a 3D object. Produced 3D parts are applied in such industry sectors as space, aviation, automotive, building and has excellent future promises. Ourdays, the commercialy promised technique for metal manufacturing is Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS). Our study concentrated on the investigation of the mechanical properties of produced17-4H (stainless steel) parts using DMLS. The effect of the DMLS process parameters (laser power, scanning speed and energy density) on the ultimate strength, yield strength and Young’s modulus was determined. We showed an evolution of the microstructure. The detected defects were classified. This study allowed to determine the optimal regimes of DMLS for SS 17-4H and describe mechanical properties of the produced parts as well as helped to show future possibilities of DMLS development.