On three-dimensional printing of 17-4 precipitation-hardenable stainless steel with direct metal laser sintering in aircraft structural applications

Abstract

The martensitic 17-4 precipitation-hardenable stainless steel is one of the commercially established materials for structural engineering applications in aircrafts due to its superior mechanical and corrosion resistance properties. The mechanical processing of this alloy through a conventional manufacturing route is critical from the dimensional accuracy (Δ d) viewpoint for development of innovative structural components such as: slat tracks, wing flap tracks, etc. In past two decades, a number of studies have been reported on challenges being faced while conventional processing of 17-4 precipitation-hardenable stainless steel for maintaining uniform thickness of aircraft structural components. However, hitherto little has been reported on direct metal laser sintering of 17-4 precipitation-hardenable stainless steel for development of innovative functional prototypes with uniform surface hardness (HV), Δ d, and surface roughness ( Ra) in aircraft structural engineering. This paper reports the effect of direct metal laser sintering process parameters on HV, Δ d, and Ra for structural components. The results of study suggest that optimized settings of direct metal laser sintering from multifactor optimization viewpoint are laser power 100 W, scanning speed 1400 mm/s, and layer thickness 0.02 mm. The results have been supported with scanning electron microscopy analysis (for metallurgical changes such as porosity (%), HV, grain size, etc.) and international tolerance grades for ensuring assembly fitment.