Characterization of Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Direct Metal Laser Sintered 15–5 PH1 Stainless Steel Powders and Components

15–5 PH1 stainless steel powder is one of the common materials used for the DMLS process. In this study, both the powder and parts fabricated via DMLS have been characterized. The microstructure and elemental composition have been examined. The microhardness and surface roughness have also been measured. The results show that most powder particle are in spherical with a particle size of 5 ~ 60 μm. Chemical compositions of the powder compare well with the literature data. The thickness of rough surface is about 1 μm. The measured Rockwell hardness is HRC 42.9±0.3, which is also in good agreement with literature