Speaker
Description
In-situ alloying via laser-based powder bed fusion of metals (PBF-LB/M) has gained attention
as an alternative to pre-alloyed powders. In steel making, this method is particularly
advantageous for the additivation of carbides like titanium carbide (TiC) which should not
fully melt during the PBF-LB/M process. On the one hand side, this ensures that the carbon
content in the steel matrix is not excessively elevated, thus reducing the risk of cracking,
compared to pre-alloyed steels with high carbon content. On the other hand, this method
offers the potential to realize a mixture of coarse carbides being advantageous for resistance
against abrasive wear and fine carbides which form by re-precipitation and contribute to grain
refinement, secondary hardening and an isotropic microstructure. This study focuses on
determining the limits of TiC, added to H13 tool steel powder, that can still be processed
effectively using PBF-LB/M, while evaluating the influence of TiC content on the resulting
microstructure. To achieve this, H13 tool steel powder was mixed with varying amounts of
TiC. During PBF-LB/M, the laser scanning speed was varied to examine the influence of
energy input on the dissolution of the carbides and on the material properties. The
microstructural characteristics were analyzed and hardness tests were performed. The results
are compared and discussed to assess the relationship between TiC-particles added to the steel
powder, laser processing parameters and the resulting microstructure.
| Speaker Country | Germany |
|---|---|
| Are you interested in publishing the paper in a Steel Research International special issue? | Yes |
