A Comparative Study on the Structure and Quality of SLM and Cast AISI 316L Samples Subjected to WEDM Processing

Additive manufacturing technologies are increasingly used in the production of semi-finished workpieces intended for further processing. This entails the need to investigate the machinability and final properties of such products. Comparative research on wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM) processes performed with two kinds of AISI 316L stainless steel workpieces is presented in this paper. The first workpiece was made by selective laser melting (SLM), while the second one was casting. Both working materials were cut with current values ranging from 8 to 72 amps. A comparison of roughness, structure and chemical composition of machined surfaces was performed between the two kinds of specimens. For the SLM sample, parameters of the cutting process that provide relatively low surface roughness (Ra ≤ 10 µm) with the simultaneous maximization of the process efficiency were determined. It was found that in the case of applying high current values (72 amp.), more favorable properties of the treated surface were obtained for the SLM sample than for the cast one.