Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Laser Additive Manufactured H13 Tool Steel

Hot working tool steel (AISI H13) is one of the most common die materials used in casting industries. A die suffers from damage due to friction and wear during its lifetime. Therefore, various methods have been developed for its repair to save costs to manufacture a new one. A great benefit of laser additive manufacturing (cladding) is the 3D high production rate with minimal influence of thermal stresses in comparison with conventional arc methods. Residual stresses are important factors that influence the performance of the product, especially fatigue life. Therefore, the aim of this contribution is to correlate the wide range of results for multilayer cladding of H13 tool steel. X-ray and neutron diffraction experiments were performed to fully describe the residual stresses generated during cladding. Additionally, in-situ tensile testing experiments inside a scanning electron microscope were performed to observe microstructural changes during deformation. The results were compared with local hardness and wear measurements. Because laser cladding does not achieve adequate accuracy, the effect of necessary post-grinding was investigated. According to the findings, the overlapping of beads and their mutual tempering significantly affect the mechanical properties. Further, the outer surface layer, which showed tensile surface residual stresses and cracks, was removed by grinding and surface compressive residual stresses were described on the ground surface.