[T12] Ferrous Materials

[14F-T12-01] Overview of Manufacture and Applications of PM High Speed Steels and Tool Steels in China

*Y. Yu¹, J. Liao¹, X. Xu¹, Z. Zhu¹ (1.Tiangong International Company Co. Ltd , China)

Keywords:High speed steel and tool steel; powder metallurgy; forming technology; additive manufacture; applications

This paper presents the overview of current scenario of PM high speed steels (HSS) and tool steels (TS) both in manufacture and applications in China. The main stream technology in powder manufacture is apparently based on two approaches: open-air gas atomization (OGA) and vacuum induction gas atomization (VIGA). The total domestic capacity reaches about 10000MT and 2000MT yearly for HSS plus TS powders, and solid PM HSS and TS steels, respectively. Applications of solid PM HSS and TS steels are still concentrated in traditional tool and die industry with an increasing rate of more than 10% every year. For HSS and TS powders, however, their main applications are in the field of plastic injection molds and dies for die-casting with internal cooling channels manufactured by additive manufacture (AM). Chinese market is a very dynamic market, with fast technology development and market penetrations.