Metal Additive Manufacturing Conference - MAMC 2021

Maraging steels are a class of ultra-high-strength martensitic steels, strengthened by precipitation of intermetallic particles in the Fe-Ni martensite upon aging. Due to their low carbon content, these steels demonstrate excellent weldability and negligible dimensional changes after heat treatment, and hence several types of maraging steels have been developed for laser-based additive manufacturing (AM) during the past decade. AM-MAR60HRC is a recently developed powder for AM to satisfy the requirements in some demanding applications, reaching strength levels up to 2600 MPa (~60HRC). This steel can be hardened in several minutes in the temperature ranges of 450-600°C, making it a proper candidate for Direct Laser Metal Deposition (DLMD), specifically for tooling applications, as it is suitable for very localized heat treatments on the deposited surface without affecting the core material hardness and strength. This work aims to investigate the processing parameters, and to study the microstructure and aging behavior of DLMD-MAR60HRC.