Effect of Laser Power and Heat Treatment Methods on the Formability of Selected Laser Melted 316L Stainless Steel
C. Deng and M. He
To improve the performance of selective laser melted 316L stainless steel components the effects of laser power and heat treatment methods on the surface morphology and mechanical properties of the formed parts are studied. The research results show that with the increase of the laser power, the surface morphology quality and mechanical properties of the formed parts initially increase and then decrease. When the laser power is 170 W a formed part with better surface morphology and mechanical properties can be obtained. The grain size and elongation can be increased by heat treating the formed part. Among them, the air cooling method can obtain better mechanical properties than the water cooling method. The combination of laser power and heat treatment is a promising method to improve the performance of selected laser melted 316L stainless steel parts
Keywords: Fibre laser, 316L stainless steel, selective laser melting (SLM), laser power, heat treatment, mechanical properties, microstructure