Desktop Metal
Power steering joint printed with 4140 on the Production System P-50.
Desktop Metal has announced the qualification of 4140 low-alloy steel for its Production System.
Renowned for its toughness, high tensile strength and resistance to abrasion and impact, 4140 is an all-purpose and heat-treatable steel that is used throughout the automotive, industrial and oil & gas spaces. Typical applications include gears, downhole tool components, couplings, spindles, bolts, nuts and other mechanical parts.
By qualifying the material for its metal binder jetting technology, Desktop Metal is hoping to enable the additive manufacture of such components at mass volumes. Meeting MPIF 35 standards for structural powder metallurgy parts, parts printed with the 4140 material are said to be carried out in quicker times and lower costs, while also with a reduction in material waste.
Desktop Metal has developed a range of applications to prove out these benefits, additively manufacturing a power steering joint for an automobile, a linear pneumatic piston, and a herringbone gear. The power steering joint was a suitable application because of the 4140’s strength and hardness, which is essential for the spline teeth that connect the part to the rest of its assembly. Using the Production System P-50, Desktop Metal says this part could be produced at quantities of up to 1.2 million per year at a part cost as low as $2.45. The herringbone gear component was lightweighted using a complex lattice design and can be mass produced with the Production System P-50 in quantities up to 200,000 per year, while Desktop Metal says the linear pneumatic piston can be produced at quantities up to 690,000 parts a year at a cost of 0.28 per cubic centimetre of sintered 4140 low-alloy steel, again with the P-50 platform.
The launch of the 4140 material follows the introduction of the aluminium 6061 powder in collaboration with Uniformity Labs in March, and adds to Desktop Metal’s growing materials portfolio, which also includes 17-4 PH stainless steel, 316 stainless steel, copper and H13 tool steel. Though it hasn’t been an easy process to bring the 4140 material to market, Desktop Metal expects it to have a big impact once in the hands of its customers.
“4140 has been a challenging material for metal binder jetting because of its low alloyed content, tight carbon control requirements and low ignition energy, which together require advanced binder chemistry, as well as extensive printing and sintering optimisation and atmospheric controls for safe processing,” commented Desktop Metal co-founder and CTO Jonah Myerberg. “We are excited to be the first to qualify 4140 for metal binder jetting to enable this versatile material for the AM industry. With the speed of the Production System, businesses can now use binder jetting to print complex 4140 parts at competitive costs while maintaining the strength and mechanical properties of traditionally manufactured alternatives. This is a game-changing solution for manufacturers who have been tied to time-consuming and expensive machining and conventional tool-based manufacturing processes.”
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