Known for its metal powders & Additive Manufacturing solutions, Sandvik has launched Osprey® HWTS 50, a hot-work tool steel powder with improved printability. Designed for laser-based Additive Manufacturing, it can also be used with Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) & Metal Injection Molding (MIM).
Tempering, thermal fatigue resistance & thermal conductivity are enhanced compared to traditional H-class hot work tool steels.
Osprey® HWTS 50 enhances the processability in Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF), reducing the susceptibility of cold cracking & its applications consist of high-pressure die-casting elements, injection molds & hot forming tools.
“Additive Manufacturing is increasingly used to produce tools and dies with near-surface conformal cooling channels. Besides optimizing processing parameters, it is important to develop chemistries tailored for this technology to address fabrication challenges. Osprey® HWTS 50 is designed to alleviate these challenges making it highly suitable for tooling applications at elevated temperatures. Examples are hot forming dies, extrusion, injection molding dies, and high-pressure die casting dies,” explains Faraz Deirmina, Principal Metallurgist in metal powder at Sandvik.
The chemical formulation is optimized to enhance hot hardness at temp above 600°C (1,112°F). It features lower carbon than medium carbon hot work tool steels with adjustments to the carbide-forming elements.
Advanced Vacuum Inert Gas Atomization (VIGA) or Inert Gas Atomization (IGA) helps to create a powder with a spherical morphology that offers better flow features, high packing density, low oxygen content & reduced impurity levels.
Sandvik relies on leaner compositions enhanced through computational tools, to increase resource efficiency and extend the lifetime of components. As a result, this reduces energy consumption and CO2 emissions.
Author: Nagarjun M
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