Prototypes and small series production of metal thin-walled components is a field for the use of a number of additive technologies. This method has certain limits related to the size and price of the parts, productivity, or the type of requested material. On the other hand, conventional production methods encounter the limits of shape, which are currently associated with the implementation of optimization methods such as topological optimization or generative design. An effective solution is employing hybrid technology, which combines the advantages of 3D model printing and conventional casting production methods. This paper describes the design of aluminum casting using topological optimization and technological co-design for the purpose of switching to new manufacturing technology. It characterizes the requirements of hybrid technology for the material and properties of the model in relation to the production operations of the investment casting technology. Optical roughness measurement compares the surface quality in a standard wax model and a model obtained by additive manufacturing (AM) of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) using the binder jetting method. The surface quality results of the 3D printed model evaluated by measuring the surface roughness are lower than for the standard wax model; however, they still meet the requirements of prototype production technology. The measurements proved that the PMMA model has half the thermal expansion in the measured interval compared to the wax model, which was confirmed by minimal shape deviations in the dimensional analysis.

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For the EN GX4CrNi13-4 martensitic stainless steel, research was conducted to investigate the impact of the quenching intensity and the content of nickel on the mechanical properties and amount of retained austenite. It was found that the amount of retained austenite significantly increases with growing nickel concentration. On the other hand, the cooling rate at quenching makes a difference only if the cooling is intensive, then amount of retained austenite decrease. A higher nickel content improves the mechanical properties. With more intensive cooling, the tensile strength decreases while the yield strength increases. The ductility is not significantly affected by the cooling intensity.

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The paper deals with hypereutectic high chromium cast irons. The subject of examination was the effect of various alloying elements (Ti, W, Mo, V) on the size of primary carbides and on the resultant material hardness. Using a scanning electron microscope with a wave dispersion analyser, the carbon content in carbides was established. To determine the other elements, an energy dispersion analyser was used. It was found that both the primary and the eutectic carbides were of the M 7 C 3 type and very similar in composition. The carbides always contained Cr and Fe, and also W, Mo, V or Ti, in dependence on the alloying elements used. The structure of materials containing only chromium without any alloying additions exhibited coarse acicular primary carbides. The structure of materials alloyed with another element was always finer. Marked refinement was obtained by Ti alloying.