RESUMEN
The effect of post-processing heat treatment on the corrosion behavior of AISI 316L stainless steel manufactured by laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) is investigated in this work. Produced stainless steel was heat treated in a broad temperature range (from 200 °C to 1100 °C) in order to evaluate the electrochemical behavior and morphology of corrosion. The electrochemical behavior was investigated by potentiodynamic and galvanostatic polarization in a neutral and acidic (pH 1.8) 3.5% NaCl solution. The microstructure modification after heat treatment and the morphology of attack of corroded samples were evaluated by optical and scanning electron microscopy. The fine cellular/columnar microstructure typically observed for additive-manufactured stainless steel evolves into a fine equiaxed austenitic structure after thermal treatment at high temperatures (above 800 °C). The post-processing thermal treatment does not negatively affect the electrochemical behavior of additive-manufactured stainless steel even after prolonged heat treatment at 1100 °C for 8 h and 24 h. This indicates that the excellent barrier properties of the native oxide film are retained after heat treatment.
RESUMEN
Nowadays, advanced metal components with high geometrical complexity can be 3D printed by using the Selective Laser Melting (SLM) technology. Despite SLM resolution and accuracy are generally limited to some tenths of mm, it should be possible to produce finer and more precise details by applying lasers with a small spot diameter. However, to present date the data collected with small laser spot diameters are poor. In this work, experimental data describing the effects of laser power and scan speed on single track formation when applying a small laser spot diameter of 50 µm on Ti6Al4V powder are reported. SEM images and the extracted geometrical data characterizing the obtained single tracks are provided here, as well as their microstructural analysis and microhardness measurements.