Direct Selective Laser Sintering of Tool Steel Powder

[Abstract] In this study, the fabrication conditions of tool steel by direct selective laser sintering were investigated. The effects of powder size, additives such as Cu and Ni powders, and laser sintering conditions on the state of laser-scanned body were examined to fabricate a sound laser-scanned body of tool steel. The optimum laser power, scan speed and scan pitch were examined by experiments. As a result, it was found that the continuously smooth single-scan track can be obtained at wider range between laser power and scan speed by using SKD11 powder below 45 μm. The smooth surface of the laser-scanned body could be fabricated at a laser power of 10 W, a scan speed of 10 mm/s and a scan pitch of 0.08 mm by using SKD11 powder below 45 μm