Desktop Metal has added another material to the list of qualified metals for its additive manufacturing production system.

The company announced that D2 tool steel that has passed the ASTM test requirements will add 420 stainless steel, nickel alloy IN625, 4140 low alloy steel, 316L stainless steel and 17-4PH stainless steel folders to its production system materials.

Jonah Myerberg, co-founder and chief technology officer of Desktop Metal, said: "Our materials science team has been committed to developing new materials and new processes to make 3D printing suitable for all industries and applications." "We are responding to customers in the manufacturing and industrial industries. There is a demand for materials such as D2 tool steel that can produce critical forming and cutting tools, as well as various other applications where high hardness is important."

D2 tool steel is said to be a multifunctional high-carbon, high-chromium air-hardening tool steel, which is characterized by high hardness and compressive strength after heat treatment. This tool steel also has extremely high wear resistance, dimensional stability and corrosion resistance under hardened conditions. Using materials with Desktop Metal’s single-pass jet (SPJ) technology, users can now 3D print parts for high-strength, high-temperature applications, such as cold-work metal forming tools, molds and punches, and injection molds with conformal cooling channels .

Desktop Metal emphasized the material's availability in heavy industrial applications and shared how the material can be used in cams used in oil and gas or chemical processing applications to convert rotary motion in the machine into reciprocating linear motion. Compared with traditional manufacturing methods, cams can be produced in a single step process to reduce part cost and delivery time, and help produce multiple sizes of cams in one build without the need for fixtures or tools. Desktop Metal stated that D2 tool steel is critical to this application due to its hardness and corrosion resistance, and that when the cam interacts mechanically with the sliding pin, it can ensure a longer service life. In addition, since these components are usually integrated into machines operating in harsh environments, the corrosion resistance provided by D2 ensures that the components operate as expected and will not deteriorate. 

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