Machine-comprehensive study of comparability and reproducibility for laser powder bed fusion of corrosion resistant steel 316L/1.4404

Additive Manufacturing of metallic components by means of laser-based powder bed techniques earns increasing importance for industrial applications due to the increased sustainability resulting from the high resource efficiency and an effective value chain. However, for further industrial penetration different challenges have to be overcome. The most urging challenge is the warranty and control of a constant high quality of the components. This includes the requirement of a reliable good machine-comprehensive comparability of components goodness. Important factors are the respective machine concept, which differs remarkably in inert gas conduction or powder supply, the quality of the powder with its morphological properties, age and storage conditions, as well as the respective system parameters. The results of a standard VDI 3405-2 based round robin test for the steel 316L (1.4404) are discussed, at which five partners with different machines participated. The implementation is not based on ideal conditions, but addresses the respective best practice of the participants, which covers industrial reality at a high degree. Thereby, the differences between included machine concepts and scattering within a manufacturing order is discussed. With this, the existing gap of standardization of properties for laser powder bed fusion of the well-established material 316L/1.4404 shall be closed analogue to a series of other materials within the VDI-standard family 3405. Based on the results obtained, manufacturing processes can be designed to be more resource-efficient and thus contribute to the sustainability of the used additive manufacturing processes.