GE Additive Arcam EBM launches D-material support for Pure Copper and Highly Alloyed Tool Steel
Published on : Monday 25-11-2019
The addition of pure copper and tool steel is a direct response to increased customer interest. Collaborative approach furthers unlock the potential of electron beam melting.
Frankfurt, Germany - November 2019: GE Additive Arcam recently announced general release of development material (D-material) support for pure copper and highly-alloyed tool steel during 2020.
Offering new materials builds on the many of the commonly known technology benefits of electron beam melting (EBM), such as high productivity and deep materials experience with crack prone alloys, but also some of the lesser known benefits including; the technology’s clean build environment, low oxidation and low reflectivity.
The addition of pure copper and tool steel is a direct response to increased customer interest. Offered to all customers as a general release on both pure copper and tool steel, a D-material describes the maturity of process parameters for a specific material of family of materials. D-materials meet mechanical requirements for test bars on a limited build envelope to relevant industrial standards.
Obtaining the same properties for complex geometries requires additional development, resulting in an industrialized material (I-material) - with process parameters optimized for production on specific customer applications with mechanical and chemical properties.
The GE Additive AddWorks team is available to provide guidance and support on the right process parameters for their applications and with mechanical and chemical requirements for both materials. It is also anticipated that some customers will manage customization in-house themselves.
“This general release of D-material support for pure copper and tool steel is an exciting development and opens up EBM to wider range of industries and applications. We have opted to take an open, collaborative approach and will review feedback from customer using the D-material, and gauge their long-term interest, before considering how we approach industrializing the materials,” said Karl Lindblom, general manager, Arcam EBM.
EBM is the only commercial available technology for additive manufacturing of crack prone alloys. Higher levels of carbon in the steel mix increase the material’s propensity to crack during production with large temperature gradients. This makes high carbon level steels unsuitable for additive manufacturing process with cold ambient temperatures such as laser powder bed fusion (PBF).