Mitigating Scatter in Mechanical Properties in AISI 410 Fabricated via Arc-Based Additive Manufacturing Process

Abstract

: Wire-based metal additive manufacturing utilizes the ability of additive manufacturing to fabricate complex geometries with high deposition rates (above 7 kg/h), thus finding applications in the fabrication of large-scale components, such as stamping dies. Traditionally, the workhorse materials for stamping dies have been martensitic steels. However, the complex thermal gyrations induced during additive manufacturing can cause the evolution of an inhomogeneous microstructure, which leads to a significant scatter in the mechanical properties, especially the toughness. Therefore, to understand these phenomena, arc-based additive AISI 410 samples were fabricated using robotic gas metal arc welding (GMAW) and were subjected to a detailed characterization campaign. The results show significant scatter in the tensile properties as well as Charpy V-notch impact toughness data, which was then correlated to the microstructural heterogeneity and delta (δ) ferrite formation. Post-processing (austenitizing and tempering) treatments were developed and an ~70% reduction in the scatter of tensile data and a four-times improvement in the toughness were obtained. The changes in mechanical properties were rationalized based on the microstructure evolution during additive manufacturing. Based on these, an outline to tailor the composition of “printable” steels for tooling with isotropic and uniform mechanical properties is presented and discussed.

Large Scale Metal Additive Manufacturing for Stamping Dies

“…Material selection for the hot stamping die was chosen based on known and previously proven materials for the wire arc system [1,2,3,4]. The part was designed to have a mild steel core and a 410 series stainless steel (410SS) outer shell.…”

Preliminary Process and Microstructure Examination of Flux-Cored Wire Arc Additive Manufactured 18Ni-12Co-4Mo-Ti Maraging Steel

“…Austenitic stainless steels also qualify as trouble-free materials, which is proved by Xie et al [9], Yao et al [22] and Wu et al [23]. Roy et al [2] successfully made a part of AISI 410 martensitic stainless steel; similarly, Lervåg et al [10] for superduplex steel and Tain et al [31] for 10CrNi3MoV steel.…”

“…Controlled dip transfer of metal drops allows to obtain beads with excellent quality, lower thermal heat input and nearly without spatter. WAAM offers lower maintenance costs and a higher deposition rate (up to 7-10 kg/h) than other AM processes [2,3]. Both new ways of conducting the process [4][5][6][7][8][9][10], strategies [11,12], and the use of new filler materials are investigated.…”

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Laser Direct Energy Deposited Martensitic Stainless Steel 410

“…On the other hand, high-temperature tempering decomposes martensite and forms coarse precipitation carbides, making it applicable to the environments where toughness and ductility are important. As mentioned the above conventional cast MSS 410 material, its applications and heat treatment processes are well defined and reported to be utilized in industrial needs [13,14].…”