Effect of Printing Orientation Angle and Heat Treatment on the Mechanical Properties and Microstructure of Binder-Jetting-Printed Parts in 17-4 PH Stainless Steel

The present work aims to study the effect of printing orientation angle and heat treatment on the mechanical properties and microstructure of 17-4 PH stainless steel 3D-printed parts obtained by the binder jetting process to assess the suitability of the process and material for rapid tooling applications. To this purpose, tensile specimens were printed at different printing orientation angles (0°, 45°, and 90°). Half of the specimens were left in the as-sintered condition after the 3D-printing operation, while the other half of the specimens was subjected to H900 heat treatment. Then, tensile and hardness tests were performed to investigate the macro-mechanical properties as a function of the printing orientation angles and postprocessing thermal treatment. Scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy was used to observe the fracture surfaces and microscopical defects on the binder jetting printed parts to evaluate the fracture mechanisms. It was demonstrated that printing orientation angles do not affect the mechanical properties of 3D-printed parts, while a significant improvement in the microstructure and mechanical properties is observed after the H900 heat treatment.