STUDIES ON WETTABILITY OF STAINLESS STEEL 316L POWDER IN LASER MELTING PROCESS

Abstract

Laser sintering is one of the techniques used in additive manufacturing processes. The main objective of the work is to study the effects of process parameters on wetting phenomenon and interfacial energy during laser melting of stainless steel powder. This paper reports wetting of laser melted powder particles and its use for the determination of surface energy of stainless steel powder under laser beam exposure. Process parameters such as laser power, scan speed and beam diameter are considered for study. This study also identifies the process parameters for better wettability which produces smooth surfaces.

Keywords

• Stainless steel
• Wettability
• Interfacial energy ratio
• Macrostructure