316L / 304 Stainless Steel Metal Powder for Laser Cladding, DED Additive Manufacturing, 3D Printing & Industrial Surface Engineering
Product Overview
GREENSTONE 316L and 304 stainless steel metal powders are high-quality austenitic stainless steel powders engineered for laser cladding, Directed Energy Deposition (DED), metal additive manufacturing, laser powder bed fusion (LPBF), metal injection molding (MIM), thermal spraying, and industrial surface engineering.
316L stainless steel powder provides an excellent combination of corrosion resistance, weldability, ductility, and process stability, making it particularly suitable for components exposed to chemical, marine, energy, food-processing, medical, and general industrial environments. Its low carbon content helps reduce the risk of sensitization and intergranular corrosion during thermal processing.
304 stainless steel powder offers a versatile balance of corrosion resistance, mechanical properties, formability, and cost efficiency. It is widely used for general-purpose additive manufacturing, surface coating, component repair, tooling, machinery, and industrial parts where reliable stainless steel performance is required.
GREENSTONE stainless steel powders can be supplied with controlled particle morphology and customized particle-size distributions to meet the requirements of different powder-based manufacturing processes, from fine powders for additive manufacturing to larger particle ranges for laser cladding and thermal spray applications.
High Sphericity and Stable Powder Flowability
GREENSTONE stainless steel powders can be produced with highly spherical particle morphology, helping achieve stable powder feeding, uniform powder spreading, consistent deposition, and reliable process repeatability. This is particularly important for DED laser metal deposition, LPBF metal 3D printing, and automated laser cladding systems.
Excellent Corrosion Resistance
Both 316L and 304 provide strong resistance to atmospheric and industrial corrosion. 316L contains molybdenum (Mo), providing improved resistance to pitting and crevice corrosion, especially in chloride-containing environments. This makes 316L particularly suitable for marine engineering, chemical processing, valves, pumps, piping systems, and corrosion-resistant industrial components.
Excellent Laser Processing and Weldability
The austenitic stainless steel composition provides good compatibility with laser-based manufacturing processes. Controlled powder quality contributes to stable melt-pool behavior and consistent material deposition during laser cladding, DED additive manufacturing, and metal 3D printing.
Suitable for Additive Manufacturing and Component Repair
316L and 304 powders can be used for both new-part manufacturing and repair or surface modification of existing components. Typical applications include:
- Laser cladding and industrial remanufacturing: shafts, rollers, valves, pump components, molds and mechanical parts.
- DED metal additive manufacturing: near-net-shape components, structural parts, functional feature addition and component restoration.
- Metal 3D printing / LPBF: complex stainless steel components, prototypes and low-volume production parts.
- Thermal spraying: corrosion-resistant and functional stainless steel surface coatings.
- MIM and powder metallurgy: precision stainless steel components and complex small parts.
Customizable Particle Size Distribution
Particle-size distribution can be selected according to the manufacturing process. Typical ranges include 15–45 μm, 15–53 μm, 45–105 μm, 53–150 μm, with other distributions available according to equipment and process requirements.
This allows GREENSTONE stainless steel powder to be matched with different powder feeders, laser cladding systems, DED machines, LPBF systems, thermal spray equipment, and powder metallurgy processes.
Controlled Powder Quality
Depending on the required specification and production route, powder characteristics such as particle-size distribution, apparent density, flowability, oxygen content, and morphology can be controlled to support consistent industrial processing.
Broad Industrial Applications
GREENSTONE 316L / 304 stainless steel powder is suitable for applications across energy, oil & gas, chemical processing, marine engineering, automotive manufacturing, industrial machinery, food-processing equipment, medical components, tooling, additive manufacturing, and industrial remanufacturing.
| Parameter | 316L Stainless Steel Powder | 304 Stainless Steel Powder |
|---|---|---|
| Product Type | Austenitic Stainless Steel Powder | Austenitic Stainless Steel Powder |
| International Grade | 316L | 304 |
| Typical UNS Designation | UNS S31603 | UNS S30400 |
| Powder Appearance | Silver-gray metallic powder | Silver-gray metallic powder |
| Powder Morphology | Spherical / near-spherical | Spherical / near-spherical |
| Typical Particle Size | 15–45 μm / 15–53 μm / 45–105 μm / 53–150 μm | 15–45 μm / 15–53 μm / 45–105 μm / 53–150 μm |
| Customized Particle Size | Available | Available |
| Fe | Balance | Balance |
| Cr | 16.0–18.0 wt.% | 18.0–20.0 wt.% |
| Ni | 10.0–14.0 wt.% | 8.0–10.5 wt.% |
| Mo | 2.0–3.0 wt.% | — |
| C | ≤0.03 wt.% | ≤0.08 wt.% |
| Mn | ≤2.0 wt.% | ≤2.0 wt.% |
| Si | ≤1.0 wt.% | ≤1.0 wt.% |
| P | ≤0.045 wt.% | ≤0.045 wt.% |
| S | ≤0.03 wt.% | ≤0.03 wt.% |
| Typical Density | Approx. 8.0 g/cm³ | Approx. 7.9 g/cm³ |
| Powder Flowability | Process-dependent; controlled according to particle-size specification | Process-dependent; controlled according to particle-size specification |
| Powder Feeding Compatibility | Suitable for industrial powder feeding systems | Suitable for industrial powder feeding systems |
| Laser Cladding | Suitable | Suitable |
| DED Additive Manufacturing | Suitable | Suitable |
| LPBF / Metal 3D Printing | Suitable with appropriate powder grade | Suitable with appropriate powder grade |
| Thermal Spraying | Suitable with appropriate particle size | Suitable with appropriate particle size |
| Metal Injection Molding (MIM) | Suitable with appropriate fine powder grade | Suitable with appropriate fine powder grade |
| Powder Metallurgy | Suitable | Suitable |
| Main Performance | Excellent corrosion resistance, weldability and chloride resistance | Good corrosion resistance, processability and cost efficiency |
| Typical Industries | Marine, chemical, energy, oil & gas, food processing, industrial equipment, additive manufacturing | Machinery, automotive, tooling, industrial equipment, additive manufacturing, general manufacturing |
Note: Chemical composition values above represent commonly used industry ranges for 316L and 304 stainless steels. Powder morphology, particle-size distribution, oxygen content, apparent density and flowability can vary according to powder production method and customer process requirements. Final specifications should be confirmed according to the required manufacturing process and batch certificate.
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