Mid Sweden University

One of the promising application areas of additive manufacturing (AM) relates to light weight structures, including complex near net shape geometries and lattices. So far one of the limiting factors hampering wider industrial usage of AM technologies is the limited availability of processed materials. The aim of present study was to expand the previous success in electron beam melting (EBM®) manufacturing of 316LN bulk materials into thinner lattice structures thus further widening the application areas available for the method. Present paper reports on the initial results where lattice structures with octagonal basic cells were manufactured using EBM® and characterized using microscopy and compression testing. 

This work focuses on the possibility of processing stainless steel 316LN powder into lightweight structures using electron beam melting and investigates mechanical and microstructural properties in the material of processed components. Lattice structures conforming to ISO13314:2011 were manufactured using varying process parameters. Microstructure was examined using a scanning electron microscope. Compression testing was used to understand the effect of process parameters on the lattice mechanical properties, and nanoindentation was used to determine the material hardness. Lattices manufactured from 316L using EBM show smooth compression characteristics without collapsing layers and shear planes. The material has uniform hardness in strut shear planes, a microstructure resembling that of solid 316LN material but with significantly finer grain size, although slightly coarser sub-grain size. Grains appear to be growing along the lattice struts (e.g., along the heat transfer direction) and not in the build direction. Energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy analysis reveals boundary precipitates with increased levels of chromium, molybdenum and silicon. Studies clearly show that the 316LN grains in the material microstructure are elongated along the dominating heat transfer paths, which may or may not coincide with the build direction. Lattices made from a relatively ductile material, like 316LN, are much less susceptible to catastrophic collapse and show an extended range of elastic and plastic deformation. Tests indicate that EBM process for 316LN is stable allowing for both solid and lightweight (lattice) structures.