3D gel printing of VC reinforced high vanadium high-speed steel

Abstract

Due to their high hardness and high strength, VC reinforced hard materials such as high vanadium high-speed steel (HVHSS) are not suitable for machining to obtain complex shape with low cost. Therefore, 3D gel printing (3DGP) was employed to print HVHSS parts, using highly loaded slurry with 60% solid content as printing slurry. After printing parameters optimization, the printing sample had good surface quality, and obvious printing lines were observed. The extruded filament was in-situ cured, thus enough to maintain the designed shape. Uniform sintering shrinkage with a shrinkage rate of about 15% was obtained in the as-sintered sample with relative density of 99%. The surface roughness decreased from 6.5 µm to 3.8 µm. Fine carbides (<1 µm) and dense microstructure were achieved. Besides, the as-sintered sample had comprehensive performance of HRC60 in hardness, 3000 MPa in bend strength, and 20–26 J in impact energy. This study proposed one promising method to directly manufacture complex-shaped hard materials without subsequent machining.

Keywords

3D gel printing / complex shape / rheological behavior / printing appearance / mechanical performance

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