Laser additive manufacturing wc and wc forming alloys and powder blends Available to Purchase

Laser Additive Manufacturing (LAM) of tungsten carbide metal matrix composites (MMCs) has been evaluated for surface modification of: hot die forming tools, cutting edges, glass tooling, extrusion mandrels, and other abrasive wear applications. This work is focused on transitions from tool steels to MMCs through a single pass laser powder deposition operation. Issues related to the application of various metal powders and carbides used include: surface hardness, porosity, cracking and dilution. These issues along with factory results that were obtained during this project are discussed. This work was initially performed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Industrial Technology under contract DE-PS07-03ID14425: Industrial Materials for the Future Program. The current work has been funded through industry collaborations that include Optomec and Carpenter Powder Products along with a couple of industrial end users.