The aim of this study was to determine the hardness and reduced modulus of elasticity of juvenile wood of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) using the nanoindentation method, and then to compare the results obtained with those of mature wood. The hardness of juvenile pine wood determined by means of the nanoindentation method was 0.444 GPa while for mature wood it was 0.474 GPa. Statistically significant differences between the values were found. The reduced modulus of elasticity in juvenile wood was 14.0 GPa and 16.4 GPa in mature wood. Thus, the hardness values obtained were about 7% higher, while the modulus of elasticity was 17% higher in mature wood. All determinations were made in the S2-layer of the secondary cell wall.

Additive manufacturing (AM) is a modern, innovative manufacturing method that enables the production of fully dense products with high mechanical properties and complex shapes that are often impossible to obtain by traditional methods. The 17-4PH grade steel is often applied where high mechanical performance is required. 17-4PH, or AISI 630, is intended for precipitation hardening, an operation that combines solution and ageing treatments and is used to significantly change the microstructure of the steel and enhance its mechanical properties. This study investigates the effect of precipitation hardening on the properties of 17-4PH steel. To examine microstructure and morphology, metallographic tests were performed together with phase composition and chemical composition analyses. Mechanical parameters were determined via Vickers hardness testing and the Oliver-Pharr method. Samples were fabricated using direct metal laser sintering (DMLS), which is one of the powder bed fusion methods. The use of a constant solution treatment temperature of 1040_C and different ageing temperatures made it possible to evaluate the effects of ageing temperature on the mechanical properties and microstructure of 17-4PH. The presence of face-centered cubic FCC g-austenite and body-centerd cubic BCC a-martensite structures were detected. The tests revealed that – similarly to the wrought material – the highest hardness of 382_10:3 HV0:2 was obtained after ageing at 450_C. The nanoindentation test showed the same H/E ratio for the sample after fabrication and after solution treatment at 0.016769, but this value increased after ageing to 127–157.5%. The sample aged at 450_C was characterized by the highest H/E ratio of 0.026367, which indicates the highest wear resistance of this material under employed treatment conditions. In general, the sample treated at 450_C showed the best performance out of all tested samples, proving to have the smallest grain size as well as high Vickers and nanoindentation hardness. On the other hand, the use of solution treatment led to reduced hardness and improved workability of the AM material.