Demonstration and benchmarking of a novel powder sheet additive manufacturing approach with austenitic steel
Wenyou Zhang, Silvia Marola, Seán McConnell, Zhe Cai, JanMell Dugenio, Ming Li, William M. Abbott, A. Çoban, Arnoldas Sasnauskas, Shuo Yin, Ramesh Babu, Wajira Mirihanage, Riccardo Casati, Rocco Lupoi
Abstract
A novel approach of Metal Additive Manufacturing using Powder Sheet (MAPS) is developed and demonstrated. A flexible metal particle-polymeric binder composite sheet is employed as innovative feedstock in this new method and this approach offers enhanced health and safety. MAPS successfully printed dense samples (99.99%). The chemical composition of the printed alloy resulted enriched in carbon compared to the feedstock powder due to the C pick-up during MAPS, leading to distinct microstructures and enhanced mechanical properties compared to those of laser beam powder bed fusion (PBF-LB/M) benchmark samples. In particular, the microstructural examinations of the MAPS samples show a coarser carbide network stable even after thermal treatment at high temperatures, while the tensile tests revealed that MAPS samples have a higher mechanical strength than the PBF-LB/M counterparts but possess lower ductility. The modification in the chemical composition indicates a strong potential for in-process alloying through MAPS. The demonstrated MAPS approach offers a novel avenue for manufacturing functional metal components with bespoke compositions and resulting properties.