Influence of local porosity on the mechanical properties of direct metal laser-sintered 1.2709 alloy

Abstract

Powder bed metal printing has demonstrated its potential for the direct manufacturing of complex parts. It has great flexibility compared to conventional manufacturing. There are also some difficulties and problems, e.g., because the process stops during production. When the process is restarted, the first layer may be thicker due to technological limitations. In this paper, the effects caused by the presence of these thicker layers were investigated. The possibility of re-melting the layers to reduce porosity were also analysed. A tool steel powder grade 1.2709 was used to produce samples with an increased thickness of melted layers.