Research on Machinability of Additively and Conventionally Manufactured 316L Stainless Steel

Additive Manufacturing (AM) has revolutionized modern production. However, its integration with conventional or subtractive manufacturing remains underexplored. Therefore, this study investigates the machinability of 316L stainless steel (SS) produced by rolling and Powder Bed Fusion Laser Beam (PBF-LB) technologies under dry turning. The metrics investigated include cutting force, vibration, surface roughness, cutting-zone temperature, tool wear, and tool durability. Under the same experimental conditions, the PBF-LB samples exhibited greater variation in machining responses than the rolled samples. Among the tested conditions, the PBF-LB sample machined at the highest feed was associated with the highest cutting force (1351 N), highest cutting-zone temperature (477 °C), and shortest tool durability (60 s). The largest measured tool damage (4.12 mm), however, was observed for a different PBF-LB sample machined at a lower feed, with possible contribution of sample-to-sample variations in material and surface condition to tool wear. Optical microscopy on this sample revealed scratch-like marks and severe edge damage, which may be attributed to sliding and abrasive interactions. The observed differences in behavior between PBF-LB and rolled samples should be interpreted cautiously as independent sample replication and direct characterization of the tested materials were not performed. Overall, the results do not establish definitive statistical effects of manufacturing route but provide experimental observations of dry-turning behavior under a predefined set of cutting conditions, identifying sample variability and material characterization as considerations for future studies.