Uniformity Labs Develops Ultralow Porosity Stainless Steel Powder for LPBF

Uniformity Labs’ UniFuse 316L ultralow porosity stainless steel powder is a high-throughput feedstock for additive manufacturing (AM). Is is said the material’s 90-micron, 400-W performance mechanical properties are superior in UTS, YS, elongation and density compared to industry standard lower layer thickness parameter sets.

The company says the material works with its high-performance scanning (HPS) to achieve approximately 3 times faster build time when compared to a competitor’s lower layer thickness scan strategies targeting best-in-class mechanical properties. It is said this throughput improvement is typical for UniFuse 316L builds. Compared to similar layer thickness builds, Uniformity Labs UniFuse 316L and HPS achieve superior mechanical properties and build uniformity across the build platform with significantly increased throughput. 

Higher bed and tap densities enable Uniformity powders to deliver improved mechanical properties and consistent performance across the build bed, even at high-speed build rates and thicker layer printing. 

316L is an austenitic stainless steel which is well suited for demanding environments and applications, such as parts exposed to marine, pharmaceutical or petrochemical processing, food preparation equipment, medical devices, surgical tooling and consumer products such as jewelry. It is known for corrosion resistance, high flexibility and excellent mechanical properties at extreme temperatures. 

“The application of Uniformity 316L 90-micron stainless steel delivers mechanical excellence for our customers who require materials that perform to the highest standard in extreme conditions,” says Adam Hopkins, Uniformity founder and CEO. “Our powders deliver superior mechanical properties, surface finish, printing yield and part reliability, and allow one machine to do the work of several.”

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• Read about how Uniformity Labs’ stainless steel powders are said to deliver improved mechanical properties at much higher throughput in laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) additive manufacturing.
• Learn about the AddUp Solutions collaboration with Uniformity Labs to maximize the productivity of Uniformity’s Ti64 Grade 23 titanium alloy using the AddUp FormUp350 laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) printer.