Effects of processing parameters on tensile properties of selective laser melted 304 stainless steel

•Mechanical properties are independence of the slice thickness and overlap rate.•SLMed samples at the building direction of 90° show excellent tensile properties.•Mechanical properties increase slowly with increasing interval number of layers.•All the SLMed samples show the character of much higher σ0.2/UTS value of nearly 0.8.

Selective laser melting (SLM) technology based on powder bed has been used to manufacture 304 stainless steel samples. The effects of slice thickness, overlap rate, building direction and hatch angle on tensile properties of SLMed 304 stainless steel samples are investigated. It is found that tensile properties of SLMed 304 stainless steel are independent of slice thickness and overlap rate, but increase slowly with increasing interval number of deposited layers. The hatch angle of 105° with the maximum interval number of deposited layers and vertical building direction are preferred to get excellent tensile properties. Importantly, all the SLMed samples feature much higher σ0.2/UTS values of nearly 0.8. The tensile strengths and ductility of SLMed samples at proper parameters are higher than those of the wrought 304 stainless steel.