2026 Peinado Maraging300 PBFLB Review

Maraging steels, particularly 18Ni300, have long been valued for their exceptional strength, toughness, and dimensional stability, making them essential in aerospace, tooling, and high-performance applications. The emergence of laser powder bed fusion (PBF-LB) as a manufacturing route has enabled unprecedented design flexibility but introduced new complexities in controlling microstructure and mechanical properties. This review provides a comprehensive examination of the current understanding of 18Ni300 steel processed by PBF-LB, with an emphasis on the relationships between processing parameters, microstructural evolution, and the resulting mechanical behavior. Part I critically synthesizes recent advances in the characterization of precipitation phenomena, austenite reversion, and defect formation in PBF-LB maraging steels, comparing them to conventionally produced counterparts. The discussion spans the effects of powder quality, oxygen and nitrogen contamination, and laser processing parameters on solidification behavior, porosity, and anisotropy. Mechanical performance is analyzed through tensile, fatigue, and fracture toughness data, highlighting the contributions of aging treatments, retained austenite, and transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) to strength and ductility. Part II presents a bibliometric and statistical analysis of nearly 600 publications retrieved from Scopus, mapping the evolution of research themes, collaborations, and methodological trends in the field. The review concludes by identifying key knowledge gaps and future research opportunities, including the need for standardized testing protocols, in situ process monitoring, integrated computational materials engineering (ICME) approaches, and long-term performance assessments.