Influence of different build orientation and laser scan strategies on surface quality, Mechanical and Material Characteristics of 18 Ni-300 maraging steel processed through DMLS

Abstract

ABSTRACT Direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) is a method used to fabricate metal parts through laser sintering. In this research, experiments are designed to study how scanning patterns and build orientation affect the properties of printed maraging steel (MS1) parts. The mechanical and physical properties of DMLS manufactured parts depend primarily on the building direction and scanning strategies. Three different scanning patterns and build orientations were adopted in this research. Tensile, hardness, the surface roughness of DMLS parts were studied and almost entirely dense under different orientations and strategies and generally higher in horizontal orientation with cross-directional strategy because of thermal history variation. The Uniaxial tensile test findings exhibit that MS has significant anisotropic tensile characteristics, dependent on the specimen orientation and scan strategy. Despite the scanning strategy utilised, the vertical orientation produced the lowest mechanical performances of MS1 parts in terms of strength values recorded compared to all other orientations. Microstructural characterisation is carried out on a sample by using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and optical microscope (OM) to analyse the fractured surface defects and pores, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) is used to determine the phase transformations. Understanding the impact of various build orientations in tensile, hardness, Surface quality shall enable the manufacturer to use the DMLS process to produce higher-quality MS1 parts.