Effect of Surface Finishing on the Corrosion Resistivity of 3D Printed M300 Steel

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of synthesis parameters and surface finish on the corrosion of DMLS-printed M300 steel components and to evaluate their applicability in corrosive environments. In order to assess the influence of the corrosive environment, potentiodynamic and long-term corrosion tests were carried out in this study, together with microscopic and EDS studies on 3D-printed M300 steel samples synthetized using the DMLS method with different laser powers. The results show that DMLS-produced M300 steel is vulnerable to corrosion in corrosive environments. The effect of the laser power used on the corrosion resistance was also demonstrated, which generally decreases with increasing laser power. This study confirms the influence of the surface condition of the components on the corrosion phenomenon. Despite the higher corrosion resistance of unpolished components, they lose mass to a higher degree in a corrosive environment. This study also shows the influence of temperature on the corrosion phenomena occurring, demonstrating its negative effect. This study also presents the microstructure of the surface of the samples after the tests, showing the degradation of the surface due to corrosive actions. The analysis of the test results suggests the protection of M300 steel components produced using the DMLS method for the case of operation in corrosive environments.