Effects of Powder Characteristics on Selective Laser Melting of 316L Stainless Steel Powder

316L stainless steel parts were manufactured via selective laser melting. This work studies the effects of powder characteristics such as particle size and particle shape composition on the density. It shows that the powder with a broad size distribution and using spherical fine powder can lead to an increase in the density of the loose powder and thus the densification of the laser melted powder. The aerosol powder forms parts of lower oxygen content well, and the density can reach to 90%.