Mechanical Properties of 3-D LENS and PBF Printed Stainless Steel 316L Prototypes

Abstract

Laser Engineered Net Shaping (LENS) and Powder Bed Fusion (PBF) are 3-D additive manufacturing (AM) processes. They are capable of printing metal parts with complex geometries and dimensions effectively. Studies have shown that AM processes create metals with distinctive microstructure features and material properties, which are highly dependent on the processing parameters. The mechanical properties of an AM material may appear to be similar to the corresponding wrought material in some way. This investigation focuses on the relationships among AM process, microstructure features, and material properties. The study involves several AM SS316L components made from 3D LENS and PBF printing. Specimens were taken from different locations and orientations of AM components to obtain the associated tensile properties, including yield, strength, and ductility, and to conduct microstructure analyses.