Experimental investigation and statistical optimisation of the selective laser melting process of a maraging steel

Selective Laser Melting (SLM) is an Additive Manufacturing process (AM) that built parts from powder using a layer-by-layer deposition technique. The control of the parameters that influence the melting and the amount of energy density involved in the process is paramount in order to get valuable parts. The objective of this paper is to perform an experimental investigation and a successive statistical optimization of the parameters of the selective laser melting process of the 18Ni300 maraging steel. The experimental investigation involved the study of the microstructure, the mechanical and surface properties of the laser maraging powder. The outcomes of experimental study demonstrated that the hardness, the mechanical strength and the surface roughness correlated positively to the part density. Parts with relative density higher than 99% had a very low porosity that presented closed and regular shaped pores. The statistical optimization determined that the best part properties were produced with the laser power bigger than 90 W and the velocity smaller than 220 mm/s.