Providence, RI - The NanoSteel Company, which specializes in nanostructured steel materials design, has expanded its additive manufacturing material capabilities to support metal 3D printing of complex, high-hardness parts and the ability to customize properties layer-by-layer through gradient material design.
The company leveraged its 2014 breakthrough in additive manufacturing wear materials to print a bearing and impeller using the powder-bed fusion process. These parts were measured to be fully dense and crack-free, with hardness levels >1000 HV.
Building on this milestone, the company used a combination of high hardness and ductile alloys to create a part featuring a gradient design. It worked with Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology to generate part samples using freeform direct laser deposition. This single additive manufacturing process achieved a seamless transition between the hard and ductile properties without subsequent heat treatment.
These gradient materials designs offer the equivalent of "digital case hardening," delivering impact resistance and overall robustness in addition to high hardness and wear resistance in a single part.
The company’s targeted markets for its additive manufacturing powder portfolio are tool and die, energy, auto, and agriculture.
For more information, please visit https://nanosteelco.com.