Correlations of Geometry and Infill Degree of Extrusion Additively Manufactured 316L Stainless Steel Components

Tobias Rosnitschek,Bettina Alber-Laukant,Andressa Seefeldt,Volker Altstädt,Stephan Tremmel,Thomas Neumeyer

doi:10.3390/ma14185173

Tobias Rosnitschek, Bettina Alber-Laukant + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14185173

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Abstract

This study focuses on the effect of part geometry and infill degrees on effective mechanical properties of extrusion additively manufactured stainless steel 316L parts produced with BASF’s Ultrafuse 316LX filament. Knowledge about correlations between infill degrees, mechanical properties and dimensional deviations are essential to enhance the part performance and further establish efficient methods for the product development for lightweight metal engineering applications. To investigate the effective Young’s modulus, yield strength and bending stress, standard testing methods for tensile testing and bending testing were used. For evaluating the dimensional accuracy, the tensile and bending specimens were measured before and after sintering to analyze anisotropic shrinkage effects and dimensional deviations linked to the infill structure. The results showed that dimensions larger than 10 mm have minor geometrical deviations and that the effective Young’s modulus varied in the range of 176%. These findings provide a more profound understanding of the process and its capabilities and enhance the product development process for metal extrusion-based additive manufacturing.

Highlights

We investigate the effective behavior of metal extrusionbased additive manufacturing (metEBAM) austenitic
We investigate the effective behavior of metEBAM austenitic stainstainless steel 316L components and focus on the part property correlations of geometry less steel 316L components and focus on the part property correlations of geometry and and infill degree in the meaning of mechanical behavior and dimensional deviations
We use use a hexagonal honeycomb pattern as the infill structure and vary the infill degree levels a hexagonal honeycomb pattern as the infill structure and vary the infill degree levels to to investigate the range of effective properties, which can be tuned by applying various investigate the range of effective properties, which can be tuned by applying various infill infill degree levels

Summary

Introduction

The social and environmental developments demand a more sustainable use of both available resources and products in their life cycle. These demands impose high challenges for the product development process. A strategy for more sustainable products is the exploitation of lightweight design potentials, which is, limited by conventional manufacturing technology [1]. Nature often uses various types of inner lattices to realize the potential of lightweight structures [2]. This approach can only be achieved by using additive manufacturing (AM).

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