Influence of nozzle temperatures on the microstructures and physical properties of 316L stainless steel parts additively manufactured by material extrusion

Purpose Material extrusion (ME) is a low-cost additive manufacturing (AM) technique that is capable of producing metallic components using desktop 3D printers through a three-step printing, debinding and sintering process to obtain fully dense metallic parts. However, research on ME AM, specifically fused filament fabrication (FFF) of 316L SS, has mainly focused on improving densification and mechanical properties during the post-printing stage; sintering parameters. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effect of varying processing parameters during the initial printing stage, specifically nozzle temperatures, Tn (190°C–300°C) on the relative density, porosity, microstructures and microhardness of FFF 3D printed 316L SS. Design/methodology/approach Cube samples (25 x 25 x 25 mm) are printed via a low-cost Artillery Sidewinder X1 3D printer using a 316L SS filament comprising of metal-polymer binder mix by varying nozzle temperatures from 190 to 300°C. All samples are subjected to thermal debinding and sintering processes. The relative density of the sintered parts is determined based on the Archimedes Principle. Microscopy and analytical methods are conducted to evaluate the microstructures and phase compositions. Vickers microhardness (HV) measurements are used to assess the mechanical property. Finally, the correlation between relative density, microstructures and hardness is also reported. Findings The results from this study suggest a suitable temperature range of 195°C–205°C for the successful printing of 316L SS green parts with high dimensional accuracy. On the other hand, Tn = 200°C yields the highest relative density (97.6%) and highest hardness (292HV) in the sintered part, owing to the lowest porosity content (<3%) and the combination of the finest average grain size (∼47 µm) and the presence of Cr23C6 precipitates. However, increasing Tn = 205°C results in increased porosity percentage and grain coarsening, thereby reducing the HV values. Overall, these outcomes suggest that the microstructures and properties of sintered 316L SS parts fabricated by FFF AM could be significantly influenced even by adjusting the processing parameters during the initial printing stage only. Originality/value This paper addresses the gap by investigating the impact of initial FFF 3D printing parameters, particularly nozzle temperature, on the microstructures and physical characteristics of sintered FFF 316L SS parts. This study provides an understanding of the correlation between nozzle temperature and various factors such as dimensional integrity, densification level, microstructure and hardness of the fabricated parts.