Influence of Powder Bed Preheating on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of H13 Tool Steel SLM Parts

Powder bed preheating is a promising development in selective laser melting (SLM), mainly applied to avoid large thermal stresses in the material. This study analyses the effect of in-process preheating on microstructure, mechanical properties and residual stresses during SLM of H13 tool steel. Sample parts are produced without any preheating and are compared to the corresponding parts made with preheating at 100°, 200°, 300°, and 400°C. Interestingly, internal stresses at the top surface of the parts evolve from compressive (-324MPa) without preheating to tensile stresses (371MPa) with preheating at 400°C. Nevertheless, application of powder bed preheating results in a more homogeneous microstructure with better mechanical properties compared to H13 SLM parts produced without preheating. The fine bainitic microstructure leads to hardness values of 650-700Hv and ultimate tensile strength of 1965MPa, which are comparable to or even better than those of conventionally made and heat treated H13 tool steel.