A Comparative Study Of M2 Additive Manufactured Parts Produced With Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) And Fused Pellet Fabrication (FPF)

Authors:

Fabrice Lion (IPC, France)
Aurélien Etiemble (ECAM Lassale, France)
Stéphane Garadebian (IPC, France)
Xavier Boulnat (INSA Lyon, France)
Claire Rigollet (ECAM Lassale, France)
Laura Delcuse-Robert (IPC, France)
Thomas Joffre (IPC, France)
Jean-Yves Buffiere (INSA Lyon, France)

Abstract:

The performance of steel parts produced by additive manufacturing (AM) is still inadequate for some industrial applications, particularly in the fields of production and tooling, which require increased durability specifications. They demand high hardness (HRC>60), while maintaining other mechanical performances such as fatigue, toughness and thermal conductivity. The key challenges of printing hard steels occur during the fusion process, due to high carbon contents cracks are likely to occur during the manufacturing process. In this work, laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) and fused pellet fabrication (FPF) are used to print M2 steel parts.Both technologies generate unique microstructures. Here, the microstructure is thoroughly investigated (Optical, XRD, SEM, Leco…) to understand the influence of these technologies on microstructural features such as grains, carbides, porosity and consequences on hardness.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.59499/EP256779113