Comparative study on the properties of 17-4 PH stainless steel parts made by metal fused filament fabrication process and atomic diffusion additive manufacturing
ISSN: 1355-2546
Article publication date: 22 August 2022
Issue publication date: 27 January 2023
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to provide a comparison between the mechanical performance and microstructural aspects of stainless steel 17-4 PH processed using, respectively, two technologies: atomic diffusion additive manufacturing (ADAM) and metal fused filament fabrication (MFFF).
Design/methodology/approach
Different tensile specimens have been printed using an industrial system and a consumer three-dimensional (3D) printer, varying two main 3D printing parameters. Mechanical and microstructural tests are executed to make a comparison between these two technologies and two different feedstock material, to identify the main differences.
Findings
These 3D printing processes make parts with different surface quality, mechanical and microstructural properties. The parts, printed by the industrial system (ADAM), showed lower values of roughness, respect those produced using the 3D consumer printer (MFFF). The different sintering process parameters and the two debinding methods (catalytic or solvent based) affect the parts properties such as porosity, microstructure, grain size and amount of δ-ferrite. These proprieties are responsible for dissimilar tensile strength and hardness values. With the aim to compare the performances among traditional metal additive technology, MFFF and ADAM, a basic analysis of times and costs has been done.
Originality/value
The application of two metal extrusion techniques could be an alternative to other metal additive manufacturing technologies based on laser or electron beam. The low cost and printing simplicity are the main drivers of the replacements of these technologies in not extreme application fields.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors want to thank CMF Marelli s.r.l. and Crea 3D s.r.l for their contribution to the production of specimens.
Funding: This research received funding from the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR) project PON “R&I” 2014–2020 ARS01_00806 “Soluzioni Innovative per la qualità e la sostenibilità dei processi di ADDitive manufacturing”.
Citation
Lavecchia, F., Pellegrini, A. and Galantucci, L.M. (2023), "Comparative study on the properties of 17-4 PH stainless steel parts made by metal fused filament fabrication process and atomic diffusion additive manufacturing", Rapid Prototyping Journal, Vol. 29 No. 2, pp. 393-407. https://doi.org/10.1108/RPJ-12-2021-0350
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited