Effect of feedstock bimodal powder mixture and infiltration process on mechanical behaviour of binder jetting processed 316L stainless steel

ABSTRACT

Binder jetting additive manufacturing (BJAM) is a widely studied technique fabricating metal parts. In this study, bimodal 316L stainless steel powder mixture of coarse (D50 – 34.1μm) and fine (D50 – 6.28μm) powders were designed for BJAM. Infiltration was used to improve the density of BJAMed parts. Bimodal powder mixture showed clear advantage over unimodal powder system on density and mechanical property of BJAMed parts. Upon solid-phase sintering, BJAMed 316 stainless steel of bimodal powder mixture (9:1 mass ratio of coarse to fine powder) showed relative density 97.19% and tensile strength 343.62 MPa, as compared with relative density 84.55% and tensile strength 291.59 MPa for pure coarse powder. For the same bimodal powder mixture, bronze infiltration, compared with solid-phase sintering, resulted in noticeably higher relative density 99.92% and tensile strength 621.63 MPa. Compared with solid-phase sintering, infiltration significantly reduced the volumetric shrinkage.

KEYWORDS:

• Binder jetting
• 316L stainless steel
• bimodal powder mixture
• infiltration
• additive manufacture

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The authors appreciate the financial support from Foshan Science and Technology Innovation Team project (FS0AA-KJ919-4402-0023), Guangzhou Basic and Applied Basic Research Project (202201010393), and Jihua Laboratory Project (grant number X190061UZ190 ).

Notes on contributors

Xuhao Liang

Xuhao Liang is a research assistant at Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, P. R. China. His research focuses on additive manufacturing of metals.

Xiaoyan Meng

Xiaoyan Meng is a postdoctoral research fellow at Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, P. R. China. His research focuses on additive manufacturing of metals, ceramics and polymers.

Peishen Ni

Peishen Ni is a research assistant at Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, P. R. China. His research focuses on additive manufacturing of metals and superhard materials.

Zhe Zhao

Zhe Zhao is a lab staff at Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, P. R. China. His research focuses on additive manufacturing of metals.

Xin Deng

Xin Deng is a professor at Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, P. R. China. His research focuses on additive manufacturing of metals, ceramics, and metal-ceramic composites.

Guanqiao Chen

Guanqiao Chen is a research assistant at Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, P. R. China. His research focuses on additive manufacturing of metals.

Yongxuan Chen

Yongxuan Chen is a research assistant at Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, P. R. China. His research focuses on additive manufacturing of metals.

Shidi Li

Shidi Li is a research assistant at Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, P. R. China. His research focuses on additive manufacturing of metals.

Shanghua Wu

Shanghua Wu is a professor at Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, P. R. China. His research focuses on additive manufacturing of metals and ceramics.

Jinyang Liu

Jinyang Liu is a research assistant at Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, P. R. China. Her research focuses on additive manufacturing of metals.

Zhi Qu

Zhi Qu is the General Manager of Guangdong Metal Ceramic 3D Technology Co., Ltd. and Guangdong Fenghua Zhuoli Technology Co., Ltd., Foshan, P. R. China. He is responsible for binder jetting technology development.

Feng Jin

Feng Jin is the Deputy General Manager of Guangdong Metal Ceramic 3D Technology Co., Ltd. and Guangdong Fenghua Zhuoli Technology Co., Ltd., Foshan, P. R. China. He is working on the application of binder jetting technology.