The German state government of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) supports the AddSteel R & D project, which aims to "digitalize" the steel industry. Coordinating the SMS group The project will be completed in 2021 and new functionally adapted steel materials for additive manufacturing are currently being developed.
One of the key goals of the project was to determine the quality of new materials for laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) metal 3D printing.
AddSteel released an interim report this week stating that one of the project's significant achievements was "the development of the first hardened and heat-treated steel powder specifically designed for lbpf applications."
"AddSteel members are working to optimize the atomization process in the new SMS Group plant to achieve the maximum proportion of metal powder size required," explains Andreas Vogelpoth, head of the Laser Powder Bed Fusion Group, Fraunhofer ILT AddSteel project leader. "The materials being developed are to enable LBPF to make heavy-duty components such as tools, gears or hydraulic valve blocks."
Coping with sales decline
A major challenge for German steel makers, especially NRW, is the continued decline in sales. In the past, manufacturing processes and equipment were modified to improve production efficiency. However, developers and users are now paying more and more attention to the alloys to be processed. Innovative materials offer new potential for competitive advantage.
The AddSteel report states: "The steel industry needs new materials to meet customers' increasingly complex needs for products they can use, such as manufacturing lightweight and crash-resistant components for the automotive industry."
This is where additive manufacturing technologies such as laser powder bed fusion come into play because of its ability to use digital data to improve component design and functionality. The report also said: "The use of LPBF-based metal 3D printing technology also provides users with the opportunity to continuously optimize the steel industry value chain."
The powder used in the LPBF process for 3D printing is made of a special alloy.
Complex parts. New alloy
Over the past few years, F-ILT scientists have been developing additive laser powder bed fusion technologies, from prototype technology to industrial-scale small series production of complex parts. LPBF has been used by companies in the aerospace, turbomachinery, medical equipment and other industries to produce complex functional components.
However, a current drawback is the inability to 3D print hardened parts (the process of strengthening the surface of metal parts) and heat-treated steel: suitable alloys and forgings can be additionally manufactured in the LPBF process without cracks or defects, and there is currently not a sufficient number Materials that can be used in industrial manufacturing.
It is for this reason that four partners-Plant Engineering Company SMS Group, German Edelstahlwerke Special Steel, Kreeld, Fraunhofer ILT Spin-off Taper and F-ILT-with the support of NRW's Leitmark-funded project, launched the AddSteel project to Development of new steel materials.
AddSteel project partners chose to develop alloys during the iterative process and make system adjustments to the LPBF process and equipment. After this, technical demonstrators will be built to make new components and spare parts that will be used to test and verify performance and cost-effectiveness.
Prospects for new alloys
Vogelpoth said: "SMS Group has established a factory to nozzle suitable metal powders." German Edelstahlwerke Specialty Steel is currently supplying new alloys. After the alloys are converted into powders, Fraunhofer ILT will soon test these alloys on its LPBF system. .
Recognition of AM innovator Christoph Leyens
In related news, Professor Christoph Leyens has been appointed as an adjunct professor at the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, for his achievements in additive manufacturing. Earlier this year, the director of the Dresden Institute of Materials Science and the director of the Fraunhofer Institute of Materials and Beam Technology (IWS) also received the same title from the RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia.
Tasks as an adjunct professor include overseeing doctoral students in Canada and Australia, as well as facilitating exchanges between students and scientists from Germany to Germany. "I am very pleased to have the opportunity to strengthen our international connections and visibility."
"There is a well-established industrial and research network in Australia. Canada has just established a similar additive manufacturing cooperation platform at the Additive Manufacturing Center in Dresden."