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ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
Material extrusion additive manufacturing of 17-4PH stainless steel via bound metal deposition: Densification, microstructures, and tensile properties
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1 Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Sendai,
Japan
2 Department of Materials Processing, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University, Sendai,
Japan
3 Department of General Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Sendai College, Natori,
Japan
4 Marubeni I-DIGIO Group, Tokyo,
Japan
5 New Industry Creation Hatchery Center, Tohoku University, Sendai,
Japan
Received: 22 March 2026 | Revised: 6 May 2026 | Accepted: 14 May 2026 | Published online: 12 June 2026
© 2026 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
Abstract
Metal material extrusion, which is based on debinding and subsequent sintering of 3D-printed green bodies, is gaining attention as a low-cost additive manufacturing process. In this study, we comprehensively examined the densification behavior, microstructure, and tensile properties of 17-4PH stainless steel prepared using bound metal deposition (BMD). The specimens were fabricated in the standard and dense modes, with the latter programmed to apply a higher extrusion pressure. The dense mode resulted in a relative density of approximately 98%, surpassing the 95% achieved in the standard mode. We investigated the impact of the build angle (0° or 90°) relative to the build direction (BD) and various printing parameters, including the specimen thickness, hatch spacing, print speed, and nozzle temperature, on the relative density and tensile properties. The results highlight the crucial role of the build angle in determining the tensile properties, leading to mechanical anisotropy. X-ray computed tomography captured linear printing defects aligned perpendicular to the BD, which contributed to premature fractures during tensile loading along the BD. The as-sintered microstructures contained α- and δ-ferrite with spherical nanoscale copper precipitates. The solution-treated and subsequently aged H900 specimens exhibited strength levels comparable to or superior to those of their wrought counterparts. These findings provide fundamental insights into the production of industrial parts using BMD.
Graphical abstract
Keywords
Bound metal deposition
Material extrusion
17-4PH stainless steel
Build defects
Microstructure
Tensile properties
Funding
None.
Conflict of interest
Kenta Yamanaka serves as an Editorial Board Member of this journal, but was not in any way involved in the editorial and peer-review process conducted for this paper, directly or indirectly. The authors declared that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have influenced the work reported in this paper.
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