Effects of processing parameters on tensile properties of selective laser melted 304 stainless steel

Selective laser melting (SLM) technology based on powder bed has been used to manufacture 304 stainless steel samples. The effects of slice thickness, overlap rate, building direction and hatch angle on tensile properties of SLMed 304 stainless steel samples are investigated. It is found that tensile properties of SLMed 304 stainless steel are independent of slice thickness and overlap rate, but increase slowly with increasing interval number of deposited layers. The hatch angle of 105 degrees with the maximum interval number of deposited layers and vertical building direction are preferred to get excellent tensile properties. Importantly, all the SLMed samples feature much higher sigma(0.2)/UTS values of nearly 0.8. The tensile strengths and ductility of SLMed samples at proper parameters are higher than those of the wrought 304 stainless steel. (c) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.