Markforged adds H13 tool steel for high-strength, high-temp tooling applications

News
January 10, 2019

January 10, 2019

Markforged adds H13 tool steel for high-strength, high-temp tooling applications

A selection of parts printed in H13 including wear-resistant inserts for fixtures, punch tooling, press brake fingers and a selection of nozzles (Courtesy Markforged)

 

Markforged, Watertown, Massachusetts, USA, has announced the launch of H13 tool steel for its desktop sized Metal X Additive Manufacturing system. It is stated that the availability of H13, also known as EN 1.2344 and SKD61 in Germany and Japan, will enable customers to manufacture parts for high-strength, high-temperature applications such as metal forming tools, dies and punches, and hardened inserts for fixtures, and even injection moulds with conformal cooling channels.

“We designed the Metal X system to change the way things are made, and the launch of H13 is the next step down that path,” stated Jon Reilly, Markforged VP of Product. “For manufacturers of high-volume plastic parts this is a game changer, significantly accelerating the speed at which they can bring new products to market.”

H13 is a hot-work tool steel, meaning that it retains high strength at elevated temperatures, and is known for exhibiting excellent hardness, resistance to thermal fatigue, high toughness, ductility, good abrasion resistance, and excellent through-hardenability. Additive Manufacturing in H13 will allow the production of parts with unique and complex geometries, something that traditionally would be very expensive and difficult to do. For example, printing an H13 injection mould that features conformal cooling channels would more effectively move heat away from the mould cavity and provide more uniform cooling, leading to less part-warp, shorter cycle times and higher throughput, and ultimately, lower operational costs.

Since 1982, San Francisco Bay Area-based Grant Engineering has been creating high-quality parts from injection-moulded plastics, producing millions of parts per year for their biotech, high tech, and consumer product industry customers. Grant is an early adopter of the Metal X printing system who also utilises the Mark 2 for printing end-of-arm tooling and fixtures. Since they received their Metal X system, the company has been printing 17-4 stainless steel injection moulds successfully, with minimal post-processing. Grant Engineering now hopes to further reduce their iteration time and cost for injection moulds printed in H13.

“Injection moulding is the core of what we do,” added Randy Grant, co-founder and co-owner of Grant Engineering. “Much like the robots and automation we’ve already introduced into our workflow, we see 3D printing – especially the Metal X – as a way to keep us hyper-competitive on cost and turnaround time while still delivering the precision and quality we’re known for. Being able to 3D print H13 should enable a lot of innovation with injection moulding, we can’t wait.”

https://markforged.com

News
January 10, 2019

About Metal Additive Manufacturing magazine

Metal AM magazine, published quarterly in digital and print formats, is read by a rapidly expanding international audience.

Our audience includes component manufacturers, end-users, materials and equipment suppliers, analysts, researchers and more.

In addition to providing extensive industry news coverage, Metal AM magazine is known for exclusive, in-depth articles and technical reports.

Our focus is the entire metal AM process from design to application.

Each issue is available as an easy-to-navigate digital edition and a high-quality print publication.

In the latest issue of Metal AM magazine

Download PDF
 

Extensive AM industry news coverage, as well as the following exclusive deep-dive articles:

  • Fly-by-wire: How Additive Manufacturing took to the skies with Norsk Titanium
  • Dynamic beam shaping: Unlocking productivity for cost-effective Laser Beam Powder Bed Fusion
  • Enabling the fusion energy revolution: Mastering tungsten with PBF-EB Additive Manufacturing
  • Patents and Additive Manufacturing: What insights can mining PBF-EB data reveal about the industry and the technology?
  • Additive Manufacturing for Semiconductor Capital Equipment: Unlocking critical supply chains
  • Can Additive Manufacturing lower the carbon footprint of parts for the energy and maritime industries?
  • Inspect Additive Manufacturing, stop monitoring: Phase3D’s unit-based, in-process inspection solution for powder bed AM

The world of metal AM to your inbox

Don't miss any new issue of Metal AM magazine, and get the latest industry news. Sign up to our twice weekly newsletter.

Sign up

Looking for AM machines, metal powders or part manufacturing services?

Discover suppliers of these and more in our comprehensive advertisers’ index and buyer’s guide, available in the back of Metal AM magazine.

  • AM machines
  • Process monitoring & calibration
  • Heat treatment & sintering
  • HIP systems & services
  • Pre- & post-processing technology
  • Powders, powder production and analysis
  • Part manufacturers
  • Consulting, training & market data
View online

Discover our magazine archive…

The free to access Metal Additive Manufacturing magazine archive offers unparalleled insight into the world of metal Additive Manufacturing from a commercial and technological perspective through:

  • Reports on visits to leading metal AM part manufacturers and industry suppliers
  • Articles on technology and application trends
  • Information on materials developments
  • Reviews of key technical presentations from the international conference circuit
  • International industry news

All past issues are available to download as free PDFs or view in your browser.

Browse the archive

Share via
Copy link
Powered by Social Snap