Tool Steel Alloy For Binder Jetting Delivers High Hardness and Strength

To meet the 3D metal printing market and its use of binder jetting technology—which uses an industrial printhead to selectively deposits a liquid binding agent onto a thin layer of powder particles—Digital Metal has expanded its portfolio to include DM D², a tool steel alloy that is said to provide an effective combination of abrasive wear resistance and toughness. DM D² is suitable for a wide range of applications, but most commonly for cutting and deformation tools.

According to Digital Metal, DM D² is a versatile high-carbon, high-chromium D² tool steel alloy that can be heat treated to high hardness and compressive strength. Hard enough to suit the task of stamping and forming other metals without losing its shape, it offers high wear resistance and is suitable in cold work applications that require sharp edges and abrasion resistance.

The steel alloy also delivers excellent surface finish and flexibility. The company adds that it is very stable during heat treatments, which allows for tailoring of the final material properties through various heat treatments after sintering.