Offset sockets | French: douille décalée à jeu étroit - Credit: Desktop Metal

AM company Desktop Metal recently added another material for its binder jetting technology. Named DM HH Stainless Steel (DM HH-SS) which is not to be confused with 420 Stainless Steel, the latest AM material it unveiled last year for this technology.

This new material is a custom stainless steel alloy that combines high strength and hardness with corrosion resistance. It combines the tensile strength, ductility, and corrosion resistance of 13-8 PH stainless steel with the added benefit of improved hardness comparable to low-alloy steels, such as 4140.

Designed for the company’s Production System™ platform, industrials who are looking to remove the use of low-alloy steels, which also require a subsequent plating step for applications needing corrosion protection, may find their dreams come true with the DM HH Stainless Steel.

The new material can be a suitable choice for several industries including oil & gas, automotive, consumer products, and medical. It is also an ideal material for conformally cooled injection tool core and cavity applications, where millions of injection strokes per year are required. An example of a key DM HH-SS application includes a tight clearance offset socket.

Offset sockets used for manufacturing tooling are critical parts in scenarios where space is limited and a traditional tool would not be able to access a bolt. Manufacturers have traditionally warehoused and maintained a large variety of tools to accommodate the multiple socket sizes produced for each unique bolt size. With the Production System, manufacturers can instead maintain a digital warehouse of each socket size and print large quantities of different sizes together in a single build, enabling just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing to meet demand. DM HH-SS is the ideal material for high-wear components such as these sockets, which are subjected to repeated abrasive use and expected to have a long lifetime, making high strength and hardness as well as corrosion resistance critical, the company states in a press release.

With the addition of this new alloy, the Production System can now print ten qualified metal materials.

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