Density and porosity control of sintered 316L stainless steel parts produced by additive manufacturing

Additive manufacturing (AM) techniques offer the possibility to build complex geometries with integrated functionalities. Three-dimensional (3D) printing of metallic powder is probably the only AM technique that can build controlled porosity sintered parts, such as filter elements and fluid permeable components. Many building and sintering parameters can be set to adjust porous properties of the final part. The effects of particle size, particle shape, sintering temperature and sintering time on the final properties of the sintered parts have been analysed. Correlations have been established between these properties and process parameters.