This research aims to characterize and examine the microstructure and mechanical properties of the newly developed M789 steel, applied in additive manufacturing. The data presented herein will bring about a broader understanding of the processing−microstructure−property−performance relationships in this material based on its chemical composition and heat treatment. Samples were printed using the laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) process and then the solution was annealed at 1000 °C for 1 h, followed by aging at 500 °C for soaking times of 3, 6 and 9 h. The AM components showed a relative density of 99.1%, which arose from processing with the following parameters: laser power of 200 W, laser speed of 340 mm/s, and hatch distance of 120 µm. Optical and electron microscopy observations revealed microstructural defects, typical for LPBF processes, like voids appearing between the melted pools of different sizes with round or creviced geometries, nonmelted powder particle formation inside such cavities, and small spherical porosity that was preferentially located between the molten pools. In addition, in heat-treated conditions, AM maraging steel has combined oxide inclusions of Ti and Al (TiO2:Al2O3) that reside along the grain boundaries and secondary porosities; these may act as preferential zones for crack initiation and may increase the brittleness of the AM steel under aged conditions. Consequently, the elongation of the AM alloy was low (<3%) for both annealed and aged solution conditions. The tensile strength of AM M789 increased from 968 MPa (solution annealed) to 1500−1600 MPa after the aging process due to precipitation within the intermetallic η-phase. A tensile strength and yield point of 1607 ± 26 and 1617 ± 45 MPa were obtained, respectively, after a full heat treatment at 500 °C/6 h. The results show that 3 h aging of solution annealed AM M789 steel achieves satisfactory material properties in industrial practice. Extending the aging time of printed parts to 6 h yields slightly improved properties but may not be worth the effort, while long-term aging (9 h) was shown to even reduce quality.

Center of 3D Printing Protolab Department of Machining Assembly and Engineering Technology Faculty of Mechanical Engineering Technical University of Ostrava 17 Listopadu 2172 15 Poruba 708 00 Ostrava Czech Republic

Department of Engineering Materials and Biomaterials Faculty of Mechanical Engineering Silesian University of Technology 44 100 Gliwice Poland

Department of Lightweight Structures and Polymer Technology Chemnitz University of Technology 09111 Chemnitz Germany

Department of Mechanical Engineering Institute of Technology Wollega University Nekemte P O Box 395 Ethiopia

Paks'D Sp Zoo Strzelecka 74 43 100 Tychy Poland

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