Evaluation of the Influence of Processing Parameters in the Additive Manufacturing of VP50IM Steel by Electric Arc and Inert Gas.

In order to increase the production of Aluminum components, manufacturers are migrating to processes with higher productivity. Nowadays, a process that has been showing outstanding performance for industrial applications is the high pressure die casting (HPDC). Components via HPDC are more resistant, with lower assembling time and post-processing needs. One of the issues is the wear of the die with the presence of several wear mechanisms. This study compares the performance of a traditional tool steel, AISI H13, with three different high-velocity processes coatings (H13, Cr3C2-25NiCr and WC10Co4Cr) regarding Aluminum corrosion and die-soldering issues. AISI H13 HVOF coating showed a dense microstructure with lower corrosion rate than bulk tool steel, opening new possibilities of applications. The measurement of the extraction stresses showed the soldering resistance of the surfaces. The Cr3C2-25NiCr coating formed very resistant intermetallic phases, increasing the extraction stress, despite the lower corrosion rate. WC10Co4Cr showed the better behavior compared with other coatings and bulk tool steel, with lower extraction resistance even bulk tool steel. Corrosion resistance of the thermally sprayed coatings was superior to the H13 bulk steel in molten aluminum alloy. The evaluation of the thermally sprayed coatings indicated that these coatings are promising technology to protect HPDC molds. Keywords: HPDC; HVOF; Die Soldering; Molten Metal Corrosion.