Materials / Compare
DMLS 316L Stainless Steel vs. Silicon
Compare DMLS 316L Stainless Steel vs. Silicon strength, stiffness, weight and thermal properties.
| Try it on a partA sample part to run stress or thermal on, free in your browser | Open in LessCAD | Open in LessCAD |
|---|---|---|
| Mechanical | ||
| Yield strength | 530MPasourcetypical, as manufactured, horizontal | not given (tensile used) |
| Ultimate tensile strength | 640MPasourcetypical, as manufactured, horizontal | 130MPasourcemodulus of rupture (bending fracture stress); brittle, no yield point |
| Flexural strength | not sourced | 130MPasourcemodulus of rupture |
| Elongation at break | 40%sourcetypical at break, as manufactured, horizontal | not sourced |
| Young's modulus (stiffness) | 185GPasourcetypical, as built, horizontal (XY); EOSINT M280-400W / M290-400W, 316L_Surface 1.0, 20 µm (2014 sheet) | 131GPasourcetypical (single quoted value of an anisotropic crystal) |
| Density | 7,900kg/m³sourcepart density (ISO 3369, not labelled min or typical), EOS M 290, 40 µm FlexLine | 2,329kg/m³sourcetypical |
| Strength to weight | 67.1kN·m/kg20% higher | 55.8kN·m/kg |
| Stiffness to weight | 23.4MN·m/kg | 56.2MN·m/kg2.4x higher |
| Poisson's ratio | 0.3sourcebase material: austenitic stainless steels incl. 1.4404 (316L), design value | 0.221sourcetypical |
| Shear modulus | 71.2GPa33% stiffer in shear | 53.6GPa |
| Bulk modulus | 154GPa | 78.3GPa |
| Speed of sound | 4,839m/s | 7,500m/s |
| Thermal | ||
| Thermal conductivity | 16.2W/m·Ksourcebase material: wrought 316/316L (Cleveland-Cliffs), at 100 °C | 163W/m·Ksourcetypical at 313 K (40 °C) |
| Thermal expansion | 15.7µm/m·Ksourcemean 25-100 °C, ASTM E228 | 2.62µm/m·Ksourcetypical at 300 K |
| 100 mm part over a 50 °C swing | 78.6µm growth | 13.1µm growth6x less |
| Specific heat | 500J/kg·Ksourcebase material: wrought 316/316L (Cleveland-Cliffs), 0-100 °C | 732J/kg·Ksourcetypical |
| Heats up and cools (diffusivity) | 4.1mm²/s | 95.6mm²/s23.3x faster |
| Thermal shock resistance | 2,067W/m | 48,095W/m23.3x more resistant |
| Melting point | not sourced | 1,412°Csourcetypical |
| Max service temperature | not sourced | 300°Csourceproducer's maximum application temperature (optical components) |
| Values for | EOS StainlessSteel 316L (powder 9011-0032), EOS M 290, ParameterSet 316L 20µm Surface M290/400W, as manufactured, horizontal; ISO 6892-1 | Synthetic single-crystal silicon (cubic, diamond structure), Korth Kristalle (crystal grower) material data; Korth usually supplies Floating Zone (FZ) material, Czochralski (Cz) also offered. Silicon is elastically anisotropic; the producer quotes one modulus and the solver is isotropic. |
Every value links to the document that states it. "Not sourced" means no citable source states it (or only a specification minimum); figures computed from it are left out too.
DMLS 316L Stainless Steel is 3D printed: its properties depend on build direction and print settings; these are typical values.
Questions
Is DMLS 316L Stainless Steel stronger than Silicon?
DMLS 316L Stainless Steel is stronger: its yield strength is 530 MPa against tensile strength 130 MPa for Silicon (4.08x).
Which is lighter, DMLS 316L Stainless Steel or Silicon?
Silicon is lighter: 2,329 kg/m³ against 7,900 kg/m³ for DMLS 316L Stainless Steel.
Which is stiffer, DMLS 316L Stainless Steel or Silicon?
DMLS 316L Stainless Steel is stiffer: Young's modulus 185 GPa against 131 GPa for Silicon, so the same part in DMLS 316L Stainless Steel deflects less under the same load.
Which is lighter for the same job, DMLS 316L Stainless Steel or Silicon?
For the same stiffness or strength: DMLS 316L Stainless Steel is lighter for a strong rod or tie; Silicon is lighter for a stiff rod or tie (tension), stiff beam (bending), stiff panel or plate, strong beam, strong panel or plate.
| Part that must be | DMLS 316L Stainless Steel | Silicon |
|---|---|---|
| Stiff rod or tie (tension) | 2.4x heavier | lighter |
| Stiff beam (bending) | 2.85x heavier | lighter |
| Stiff panel or plate | 3.02x heavier | lighter |
| Strong rod or tie | lighter | 20% heavier |
| Strong beam | 33% heavier | lighter |
| Strong panel or plate | 1.68x heavier | lighter |
For the same stiffness or strength, mass scales with density over stiffness (or strength) raised to a power set by how the part is loaded: 1 for a rod in tension, 1/2 for a beam in bending, 1/3 for a panel (the standard material-selection indices).
Which conducts heat better, DMLS 316L Stainless Steel or Silicon?
Silicon conducts heat better: 163 W/m·K against 16.2 W/m·K for DMLS 316L Stainless Steel.
Which expands less with temperature?
Silicon expands less: 2.62 µm/m·K against 15.7 µm/m·K for DMLS 316L Stainless Steel.