Influence of Tempering Temperature and Time on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Additively Manufactured H13 Tool Steel

• Published in: Materials Vol. 15; no. 23; p. 8329
• Main Authors: Bae, Kichang, Moon, Hyoung-Seok, Park, Yongho, Jo, Ilguk, Lee, Junghoon
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 23-11-2022; MDPI
• Subjects: 3D printing; Additive manufacturing; AISI H13 tool steel; Carbides; Chromium molybdenum vanadium steels; Cooling; Decomposition; Heat treating; Hot work tool steels; Hot working; laser powder bed fusion; Lasers; Machining; Manufacturing; Martensite; Mechanical properties; Metal fatigue; Microstructure; post-heat treatment; Scanning electron microscopy; Secondary hardening; Steel making; Strain gauges; Technology application; Temperature; Tempering; Tensile strength; Tool-steel; South Korea; Japan; additive manufacturing; tempering; AISI H13 tool steel; laser powder bed fusion; post-heat treatment
• ISSN: 1996-1944; 1996-1944
• DOI: 10.3390/ma15238329

Among various processes for manufacturing complex-shaped metal parts, additive manufacturing is highlighted as a process capable of reducing the wastage of materials without requiring a post-process, such as machining and finishing. In particular, it is a suitable new manufacturing technology for producing AISI H13 tool steel for hot-worked molds with complex cooling channels. In this study, we manufactured AISI H13 tool steel using the laser power bed fusion (LPBF) process and investigated the effects of tempering temperature and holding time on its microstructure and mechanical properties. The mechanical properties of the sub-grain cell microstructure of the AISI H13 tool steel manufactured using the LPBF process were superior to that of the H13 tool steel manufactured using the conventional method. These sub-grain cells decomposed and disappeared during the austenitizing process; however, the mechanical properties could be restored at a tempering temperature of 500 °C or higher owing to the secondary hardening and distribution of carbides. Furthermore, the mechanical properties deteriorated because of the decomposition of the martensite phase and the accumulation and coarsening of carbides when over-tempering occurred at 500 °C for 5 h and 550 °C for 3 h.