Fused filament fabrication and sintering of 17-4PH stainless steel

We demonstrate in this paper that Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) is a reliable and rapid technology for manufacturing complex parts made with 17-4PH stainless steel. We printed, sintered, and evaluated the performance of FFF manufactured 17-4PH stainless steel. Our results show that FFF is competitive and even superior to other manufacturing technologies. It turned out that the mechanical properties are highly dependent on the post-treatment and hardening procedure. The elongation changed from 5 % − 9.5 % due to annealing treatments. We found yield strength of 1007 MPa, ultimate strength of 1212 MPa, and density > 99 % after hardening.