Effect of Process Parameters on Powder Bed Fusion Maraging Steel 300: A Review

Powder bed fusion is a 3D printing method to build metallic components by laser melting. Maraging steels are used in aerospace applications due to their tremendous strength to weight proportion. In current years, maraging steel components built by Additive Manufacturing (AM) are used in the aerospace industry instead of casting parts. Selective Laser Melting (SLM), Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS), and Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) techniques in the 3D printing process are widely used to manufacture the maraging steel. The mechanical features of LPBF maraging steel are more when compared to the wrought alloy. The variable process parameters in the LPBF method are laser power, laser scanning velocity, hatch distance, layer thickness, and build direction. Such process parameters are manipulated adequately to fabricate the final component; otherwise, they cause porosity, cracks, low density, and balling. Depending on the laser-metal interaction, these defects affect the microstructure, relative density, mechanical, and surface features of the maraging steel component fabricated in the LPBF process. In this paper, an attempt has been made to review the effect of the laser process parameters with the maraging steel 300 in the LPBF process.