Effect of SLM Process Parameters on Relative Density of Maraging Steel (18Ni-300) Formed Parts

Abstract

Taking maraging steel (18Ni300) powder as the research object, the influence of the density of forming parts such as laser power p, scanning speed v, scanning spacing s and powder thickness h during the rapid forming process of SLM laser was studied by orthogonal test. The experimental results show that the laser power and scanning spacing have a significant effect on the density of the molded part, while the powder thickness and scanning speed have no significant effect on the relative density of the molded part. The order of importance of the influence of each factor on the compactness of the formed part is the laser power, the scanning spacing, the scanning speed, and the powder thickness. The best combination of process parameters is a laser power of 260 W, a scanning speed of 700 mm/s, a scanning spacing of 0.11 mm, and a powder thickness of 0.02 mm. When the laser volume energy density is between 70 J/mm3 and 185 J/mm3, the relative density can reach more than 99%, and it can increase to 99.99% during this interval.