Performance of additive manufactured Stellite 6 tools in friction stir processing of CuCrZr sheet

•Stellite-6 FSW tools were developed on H13 steel by additive manufacturing (AM).•Tool performance was evaluated in friction stir welding/ processing of CuCrZr.•No tool wear or plastic deformation was observed on Stellite-6 tool.•This performed better than H13 as-received, heat treated and laser remelted tools.•Tool wear and failure mechanism investigated in conventional and AM tools. In the recent time friction stir welding (FSW), a solid state welding process has rapidly gained attention for joining high melting point materials like Cu, Fe, Ti and their alloys apart from Al alloys due to its several advantages over fusion welding techniques. AISI H13, a versatile chromium–molybdenum hot work hardened steel, has been the most commonly used as a tool material for aluminium alloys. However, low tool life due to plastic deformation and wear at elevated temperatures is limiting its application in welding of high melting point materials. In the present work the performances of as-received, heat treated, laser remelted and Stellite 6 hardfaced H13 steel tools in friction stir processing (FSP) of CuCrZr have been investigated. Stellite 6 hardfaced FSW tools are developed by additive manufacturing (AM) process on H13 steel as a base material. In all these cases except the Stellite 6 hardfaced tool, the shoulder and pin are found to deform plastically with significant wear of shoulder along with the diffusion of CuCrZr into tool from tool pin-shoulder interface. However, tools developed by AM process are found to remain intact without any significant deformation or wear.