Processing conditions and microstructural features of porous 316L stainless steel components by DMLS

Direct metal laser sintering (DMLS), due to its flexibility in materials and shapes, would be especially interesting to produce complex shaped porous metallic components. In the present work, processing conditions and microstructural characteristics of direct laser sintered porous 316L stainless steel components were studied. It was found that a partial melting mechanism of powders gave a high feasibility in obtaining porous sintered structures possessing porosities of ∼21–∼55%. Linear energy density (LED), which was defined by the ratio of laser power to scan speed, was used to tailor the laser sintering mechanism. A moderate LED of ∼3400–∼6000 J/m and a lower scan speed less than 0.06 m/s proved to be feasible. With the favorable sintering mechanism prevailed, lowering laser power or increasing scan speed, scan line spacing, and powder layer thickness generally led to a higher porosity. Metallurgical mechanisms of pore formation during DMLS were addressed. It showed that the presence of pores was through: (i) the formation of liquid bridges between partially melted particles during laser irradiation; and (ii) the growth of sintering necks during solidification, leaving residual pores between solidified metallic agglomerates.