Microstructural Characterization and Mechanical Performance of Hot Work Tool Steel Processed by Selective Laser Melting

• DOI: 10.1007/s11663-014-0267-9
• Publication Date: 2015-01-07T19:29:24Z
• Authors: Martin Joachim Ho...; Alexander Taube; Florian Brenne; Mirko Schaper; Thomas Niendorf
• Keywords: Hot work; Characterization; Selective Laser Melting; Thermomechanical processing; Metastability; Tensile testing

Microstructural characterization of hot work tool steel processed by selective laser melting was carried out. The findings shed light on the interrelationship between processing parameters and the microstructural evolution. It was found that the microstructure after layer-wise processing partially consists of metastable-retained austenite which transforms to martensite in a subsequent tensile test. This improves the mechanical properties of the hot work tool steel enabling direct application.