Density analysis of direct metal laser re-melted 316L stainless steel cubic primitives

This paper reports on the density of cubic primitives made by Direct Metal Laser Re-Melting, a process variant of selective laser sintering (SLS). Here, stainless steel 316L powder fractions are scanned and fused by a 90 W Nd: YAG laser in consecutive 100 mum layers in order to build a 3-Dimensional object. The effects of Q-Switch pulsing frequency, scanning speed and scan spacing on sample density are described. The samples are measured by two methods: a weight/volume analysis and a xylene impregnation technique. The results are supported by microscopy analysis for qualitative arguments. The results show the significant influence of pulsing the beam on the density of the fabricated material. Also reported is the relationship of material density with energy density ( as a function of the process parameters; power, scan speed and scan spacing). Optical analysis of material cross sections shows a periodic occurrence of porosity across the whole range of samples. Causes for this are discussed. (C) 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers.