Feasability Investigation for Laser Powder Bed Fusion of High-Speed Steel AISI M50 with Base Preheating System

Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) is an additive manufacturing process employed in the aerospace, automotive, and medical industries. In these sectors, nickel-, aluminium-, and titanium-based alloys are mainly used for various applications. Yet, only few of the commonly used steels have been qualified for the LPBF process in the mechanical engineering industry, which normally uses hot work tool steels with less than 0.5 wt.-% carbon content. However, many applications need high wear-resistant steel alloys with high hardness, both of which can be achieved with a higher carbon content, like in high-speed steels. But when processed with LPBF, these steels often form cracks, making the process very challenging.