EVALUATION OF SINGLE TRACKS OF 17-4PH STEEL MANUFACTURED AT DIFFERENT POWER DENSITIES AND SCANNING SPEEDS BY SELECTIVE LASER MELTING
In Selective Laser Melting, the initial units produced are single tracks that overlap to create a single layer; from the sequence of layers, a 3D object is manufactured. The properties of the parts produced by SLM depend heavily on the
properties of each single track and each layer formed by these tracks. This study evaluates the effect of processing parameters on the geometrical characteristics of single tracks manufactured from 17-4PH stainless steel powder. A single-mode continuous-wave ytterbium fibre laser was used to manufacture single tracks at laser powers in the
range of 100-300 W with a constant spot size of ∼80μm. The single tracks produced were subjected to standard metallographic preparation techniques for further analysis with an optical microscope.
