Direct selective laser sintering of tool steel powders to high density: part B – the effect on microstructural evolution

This paper describes recent progress on the Direct Selective Laser Sintering of M2 [Fe6W-5Mo-4Cr-2V-0.8C] high speed steel (HSS) and H13 [Fe-5Cr-1V-1Si-1.5Mo-0.4C] tool steel powders. Part B will focus on the microstructural evolution of laser scanned powder beds. It has been found that H13 powders are more amenable to Direct Selective Laser Sintering than M2 powders. Densities up to 90% are possible with H13 powder compared with 70% for M2. The relationship between alloy composition, microstructure, post-scanned density and scan conditions will be discussed for single track, single layer and multi-layer constructions.