## 1 Introduction
The shaping phase is performed with filaments characterized by a homogenous mixture of sinterable metal powders and a multi-component binder system. The binder fraction is removed from the printed part through a debinding step using solvents and/or thermal debinding [16]. Lastly, the sintering phase provides interparticle bonding that leads to near full densification through a thermal cycle performed below the melting temperature [17]. The thermal treatment phases improve the mechanical properties of the metal components, achieving values comparable to those typical of the metal base material. To date, few studies have been conducted on the mechanical properties of metal parts fabricated via ME and sintering. [PERSON] et al. [18] reported that the average tensile strength of 316L stainless steel parts printed via ME was \(441\pm 27\) MPa and the Vickers hardness on average was approximately 145 \(\pm\) 6.7 HV. Similarly, the 316L-material-extruded parts in [19] exhibited a yield strength of 167 MPa, a UTS of 436 MPa, and a Rockwell (B Scale) hardness value of 60 HRB. [PERSON] et al. [20] analyzed the mechanical anisotropic performance of 316L samples printed via ME. Yield strength and UTS were not affected by build orientation; however, a correlation between the overall porosity and mechanical performance was apparent. Conversely, in [21], the authors demonstrated the anisotropy of the tensile properties of the specimens due to the presence of segregated binder domains in the filaments that remained as oriented voids after shaping and sintering phases. [PERSON] et al. [22] confirmed a significant dependency between the building orientation of the layers and the yield strength and UTS of the specimens. In contrast, [PERSON] et al. [23] analyzed the mechanical properties of metal samples fabricated using two different AM techniques. The results of these tests indicated that the ME 316L samples had lower yield strength, UTS, and elastic modulus compared to those of 316L samples fabricated using the laser powder bed fusion technique. Similarly, in [24], the authors tested 17-4 PH ME samples and found that [PERSON]'s modulus, maximum stress,and strain at break were 100%, 66%, and 16%, respectively, of the values of the specimens produced using laser sintering and traditional manufacturing methods [25; 26]. An improvement in the mechanical properties of the metal-ME specimens could be achieved by an appropriate heat treatment following the sintering step. [PERSON] et al. [27] enhanced the mechanical properties of 17-4 PH samples by adding an aging treatment (condition H900). In their tests, the tensile strength of the specimens improved from 880 to 1140 MPa after the solution and aging treatments. In the present work, an innovative multi-component filament highly filled with 316L stainless steel powder was used to shape the samples for subsequent mechanical testing. The objective of this study is to provide an overall mechanical characterization of debinded and sintered specimens in comparison with the monolithic AISI 316L material to expand the technical feasibility of this promising ME alternative for the manufacture of components with high added value and good mechanical characteristics utilizing low-cost equipment.