Selective laser sintering of MA956 oxide dispersion strengthened steel

Rastering a 400 W laser over a 110μm MA956 ODS steel powder bed, we additively built parts with varying build conditions. Although density was achieved to within 97% of the wrought MA956, ultimate tensile strengths achieved only 65% of the wrought strength. Spectroscopy analysis points to the agglomeration of the yttria nano-particles as a possible explanation for the loss in strength. Further study might benefit from exploration of other parameters such as thinner powder build layers which would require less energy input to achieve sintering while minimizing time above the melting temperature.