NanoSteel develops high-hardness alloy for crack-free additive manufacturing

The NanoSteel® Co., Providence, R.I., has announced the expansion of its engineered powders business into additive manufacturing. By leveraging its uniform metal matrix microstructures in the laser-sintering process, the company has built a crack-free, fully dense bulk sample.

The firm’s initial focus in additive manufacturing supports the market need for on-demand, on-site wear parts while addressing the current challenges in 3-D printing of high-hardness parts.

The company worked with a global process development partner to optimize processing of a proprietary alloy with a high-volume fraction of borocarbide phases. This successfully produced a fully dense (99.9 percent), crack-free part with hardness values of more than 1,000 HV, wear resistance comparable to conventionally manufactured M2 tool steels, and a uniform microstructure. These properties were achieved without the need for postprocessing such as hot isostatic pressing (HIP) or further heat treatment.