Steel Powder Provides High Hardness

Launching its first product for the laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing process, NANOSTEEL has released BLDRmetal L-40. It is a case-hardening steel powder that provides high hardness and ductility (case hardness >70HRC, 10%+ core elongation) and prints easily on standard commercial equipment. This alloy provides superior performance to M300 maraging steel and is an alternative to difficult-to-print tool steels such as H13.

Expanding the potential use of 3D printing in a wide variety of hard materials markets, BLDRmetal L-40 is designed to be used for parts including tools, dies, bearings and gears. The capabilities of BLDRmetal L-40 were demonstrated by printing an 8-in. roll thread die set, which outperformed dies machined from D2 and M2 tool steels.

NanoSteel developed this high hardness alloy through rapid iterative development at CFK GmbH, an industry-leading 3D printing service provider, whose expertise was instrumental in developing the die from concept to finished part.