Metal Additive Manufacturing Conference 2018

Additive manufacturing is a technology that exhibits enormous potential in several application industries. The technology allows to build up complex 3D geometries with reduced mass using lightweight materials while dramatically reducing the development time, compared to conventional manufacturing routes. In many applications, 3D printed components face the need to operate under demanding conditions thus requiring additional surface functionality to enhance their wear resistance or to control friction when sliding against other components. In this work 3D lightweight structures with different wall thicknesses (0.75 mm to 2.00 mm) made of Maraging steel (EOS MS1, 1.2709) were realized using the Laser Beam Melting (LBM) technology. Using a 200 W Yb-fiber laser (lambda = 1080 nm) metal powder particles are welded together selectively under inert gas atmosphere according to the current cross section. After lowering the building platform by 30 µm a new powder layer is spread on it and the exposure of the next cross section starts. This procedure is repeated until the complete lightweight structure is finished. For the purpose of stress relieve annealing a heat treatment was applied on all manufactured structures. In order to functionalize the surface of the 3D printed lightweight structures, multifunctional claddings are deposited using high power direct diode laser (HPDDL). The laser claddings are designed to fulfil several duties simultaneously, thus providing multifunctionality. Particular emphasis is set in increasing their wear resistance by the presence of hard phases and offer self-lubricating properties for controlling friction by themselves. The results obtained discuss the potential of the hybrid 3D components for operating under severe contact conditions in a wide temperature range. By providing surface multifunctionality using laser claddings, the industrial applicability of these promising 3D printed hybrid components is enlarged opening the doors to new fields of application.