Additive manufacturing is one of the most popular technological processes and is being considered in many research works, a lot of which are related to thin-walled parts analysis. There are many cases where different part geometries were manufactured using the same process parameters. That kind of approach often causes different porosity and surface roughness values in the geometry of each produced part. In this work, the porosity of thin-walled and monolithic parts was compared. To analyze additively manufactured samples, porosity and microstructural analyses were done. Additionally, to check the influence of process parameter modification on the manufactured parts' properties, hardness and roughness measurements were made. Surface roughness and the influence of surface treatment were also taken into account. Porosity reduction of thin-walled parts with energy density growth was observed. Additionally, a positive influence of slight energy density growth on the surface roughness of produced parts was registered. Comparing two extreme-parameter groups, it was observed that a 56% energy density increase caused an almost 85% decrease in porosity and a 45% increase in surface roughness. Additional surface treatment of the material allowed for a 70-90% roughness reduction.
Keywords: 316L stainless steel; additive manufacturing; microstructural investigation; porosity; selective laser melting; surface treatment.