Additive manufacturing (AM) is able to generate parts of a quality comparable to those produced through conventional manufacturing, but most of the AM processes are associated with low build speeds, which reduce the overall productivity. This paper evaluates how increasing the powder layer thickness from 20 µm to 80 µm affects the build speed, microstructure and mechanical properties of stainless steel 316L parts that are produced using laser powder bed fusion. A detailed microstructure characterization was performed using scanning electron microscopy, electron backscatter diffraction, and x-ray powder diffraction in conjunction with tensile testing. The results suggest that parts can be fabricated four times faster with tensile strengths comparable to those obtained using standard process parameters. In either case, nominal relative density of > 99.9% is obtained but with the 80 µm layer thickness presenting some lack of fusion defects, which resulted in a reduced elongation to fracture. Still, acceptable yield strength and ultimate tensile strength values of 464 MPa and 605 MPa were obtained, and the average elongation to fracture was 44%, indicating that desirable properties can be achieved.

增材制造（AM）能够生产出质量与传统制造工艺相当的零件，但是大多数增材制造工艺与较低的制造速度有关，从而降低了整体生产率。本文评估了将粉末层厚度从20 µm增加到80 µm如何影响使用激光粉末床熔合工艺生产的316L不锈钢零件的制造速度，微观结构和机械性能。结合拉伸试验，使用扫描电子显微镜，电子背散射衍射和X射线粉末衍射进行了详细的微观结构表征。结果表明，零件的制造速度可以提高四倍，其拉伸强度可与使用标准工艺参数获得的强度相比。在任一情况下，标称相对密度> 99.9％，但层厚度为80 µm时，缺乏融合缺陷，导致断裂伸长率降低。仍然获得可接受的屈服强度和极限抗拉强度值分别为464 MPa和605 MPa，平均断裂伸长率为44％，表明可以实现所需的性能。