RESEARCH ABOUT M300 MARAGING STEEL METALLIC POWDER FOR USE IN SLM 3D PRINTING

A growing number of steel components are being fabricated by 3D metal printing. Using metallic powder as the material fed into the laser is selective laser melting (SLM), one of the most popular and precise techniques. The main focus of this article is the investigation that Renishaw conducted on the powder that was supplied. The powder is made using the gas atomization method, and the powder obtained from the SLM process is then examined. The powder's morphology is analysed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The particles were seen to have a spherical shape, with a notable number of satellites attached to their surface. The particle size distribution (PSD) was examined and ranged from 15 to 90 µm. In addition, the porosity exhibited a range of values between 0.03% and 0.12%, with an average value of 0.07%. Additionally, the surface wettability was tested, and it was seen to display a wetting behavior (under 90◦) which provided surface energy up to 46.21 mJ.m−2.