316L Stainless Steel (wire-DED)

316L stainless steel made by wire-fed laser directed energy deposition is the low-carbon, molybdenum-bearing austenitic grade built up bead by bead as a laser melts wire onto a substrate. The deposit solidifies as coarse columnar grains along the build direction, so properties can differ between build and travel directions, and thermal cycling leaves residual stress and distortion. Lack-of-fusion porosity can occur between beads if parameters are poorly tuned. Surfaces are rough and wavy, so functional faces are usually machined. Typical uses are near-net-shape preforms, large corrosion-resistant parts, cladding, and repair of existing components.