Effect of Build-Up Strategy and Selective Laser Melting Process Parameters on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of 316L Stainless Steel

Additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, is a method for creating three-dimensional objects layer-by-layer based on a digital model. This article presents the results of research on selective laser melting (SLM) of 316L stainless steel powder. Its aim is to investigate the relation between the mechanical properties of SLM-fabricated 316L steel samples obtained from uniaxial tensile tests and the SLM process parameters including the build-up strategy. Four different configurations of 3D printing orientation relative to the build platform were considered. The variable parameters of the SLM process were laser power and laser scanning speed. The morphology of the external surfaces and the microstructure of the SLM-processed samples were examined. The results show that samples printed in the longitudinal and transverse configurations had the highest tensile strength. Samples printed in the vertical and diagonal configurations had the greatest dispersion of values of mechanical parameters. The main difference in mechanical properties after doubling the SLM process parameters was a decrease in elongation for samples printed in the longitudinal configuration and an increase in this value for samples printed in the transverse configuration. The use of higher laser powers and laser scanning speeds guarantees a more compact, non-porous microstructure of SLM-processed samples.