Wear-O (Transnational CORNET project): Wear optimization of highly stressed shaping tools

N.N.

This project is carried out together with three other research institutes in Germany and Austria and a consortium of industrial partners. The aim is to develop wear-optimized forming and cutting tools with a high degree of freedom of shape made of hard metal (tungsten carbide-cobalt; WC-Co), for which various approaches are being pursued within the project. At IAM-WK a new process for the mechanical-thermal coupled, additive manufacturing of such components is being developed. In this process, powdered hard metal is incrementally compacted into complex shapes using the mechanical surface hammering method "piezo peening". It thus replaces the form bound pressing of the powder prior to the thermal sinter forming process. Piezo peening is also used to grade the manufactured carbide tools, i.e. to set improved edge layer properties by local material compaction and hardening as well as by the introduction of residual compressive stresses. The "Wear-O" project is thus to be found on both sides in the context of mechanical surface treatment as well as in additive manufacturing.

Motivation

For the development of wear-optimized forming and cutting tools with a high degree of freedom of shape made of hard metal (tungsten carbide-cobalt; WC-Co), various approaches can be pursued. On the one hand, powdered carbide can be compacted incrementally into complex shapes using the mechanical surface hammering process "piezo peening". On the other hand, "piezo peening" allows the manufactured carbide tools to be graded, i.e. improved surface layer properties can be set by local material compaction and hardening as well as the induction of residual compressive stresses. This should increase the service life of highly stressed forming tools.

Goal

• Increase of the design freedom with simultaneous optimization of the surface layers in highly stressed carbide tools

Investigations

• Construction of a test stand for incremental mechanical powder compaction (Machine hammer peening based additive layer manufacturing, MHP-ALM)
• Component and surface layer analyses with microscopic and mechanical methods