In the present study, 18% Ni 300 maraging steel powder was processed using a selective laser melting (SLM) technique to study porosity variations, microstructure, and hardness using various process conditions, while maintaining a constant level of energy density. Nowadays, there is wide range of utilization of metal technologies and its products can obtain high relative density. A dilatometry study revealed that, through heating cycles, two solid-state effects took place, i.e., precipitation of intermetallic compounds and the reversion of martensite to austenite. During the cooling process, one reaction took place (i.e., martensitic transformation), which was confirmed by microstructure observation. The improvements in the Rockwell hardness of the analyzed material from 42 ± 2 to 52 ± 0.5 HRC was improved as a result of aging treatment at 480 °C for 5 h. The results revealed that the relative density increased using laser speed (340 mm/s), layer thickness (30 µm), and hatch distance (120 µm). Relative density was found approximately 99.3%. Knowledge about the influence of individual parameters in the SLM process on porosity will enable potential manufacturers to produce high quality components with desired properties.
Keywords: 18Ni-300 maraging steel; 3D printing parameters; SLM; relative density; structure.