Powder-Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing of 316L Stainless Steel Using Short-Wavelength Diode Point Melting


Erman S., Aydın A., Mumtaz K.

JOURNAL OF MATERIALS RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY, cilt.1, sa.1, ss.1-37, 2025 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 1 Sayı: 1
  • Basım Tarihi: 2025
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1016/j.jmrt.2025.12.214
  • Dergi Adı: JOURNAL OF MATERIALS RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Scopus, Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Compendex, INSPEC, Directory of Open Access Journals
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.1-37
  • Gazi Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Diode Point Melting (DPM) is an alternative additive manufacturing powder-bed melting approach that combines multiple low-power, short-wavelength lasers into a single spot that is raster-scanned by an XY gantry to selectively melt deposited powder. In this study, the DPM laser head is composed of eight 450 nm diodes (∼35 W total) focused to ∼100 × 150 μm and is used to fabricate 316L stainless steel. Parts achieve >98% relative density while operating at slower scan speeds and estimated lower cooling rates than Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) (≈6.66×104 K s-1 vs ∼107 K s-1). The DPM microstructure is distinguished by larger grains (∼18 μm) and larger cellular sub-grains (∼2 μm) relative to the typical LPBF of 316L. It was demonstrated that cellular size decreases with increasing scan speed, evidencing cooling-rate control of the sub-grain structure. Mechanical characterisation shows a modest reduction in elastic modulus and Vickers hardness compared with LPBF-processed 316L, attributed to grain coarsening and slightly higher porosity, while values remain above those of conventionally manufactured 316L. These findings demonstrate potential for DPM to be a low-cost and accessible alternative to LPBF with unique microstructural characteristics.