Cetim releases LPBF additive manufacturing steel suitable for hardening

Cetim, the French Technical Center for Mechanical Industries, has released a new steel grade for the Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) additive manufacturing. Characterised as 33CrMoV12 steel, this material is designed for parts enduring nitriding, a hardening heat treatment that diffuses nitrogen into the surface of a metal. Such nitrided parts feature mechanical properties suitable for the power transmissions sector. As a result of extensive R&D work carried out on behalf of French manufacturers, engineers at Cetim have added 33CrMoV12 steel to three steels already commonly used for LPBF manufacturing. This includes X2CrNiMo17-12-2 (316L) and X5CrNiCuNb16-4 (17-4PH) stainless steels and the X2NiCoMo18-9-5 steel (maraging 300).