Stainless Steel X15TN For Laser Based Powder Bed Fusion: Material Properties For Tooling Applications

The X15TN steel (Euro number 1.4123) in wrought form has broad applications such as fuel injection components, pollution control systems in abrasive or corrosive environments, cutting blades with high requirements on corrosion resistance, surgical instruments and mold components. A previous study has shown that gas atomized X15TN by Aubert&Duval is possible to be processed in powder bed fusion via laser beam (PBF-LB/M) despite its relatively high carbon content. Being both cobalt free and with an excellent corrosion resistance combined with a hardness of up to 59 HRC makes it of high interest for additive manufacturing. In this study, process parameters for PBF-LB/M will be presented. The material properties for different heat treatments will be presented and compared to the wrought form of the material.