Contact: Prof. Julia Hufenbach
Additive manufacturing (AM), and in particular laser powder bed fusion (PBF-LB/M), has emerged as a transformative production technology capable of generating (multifunctional) components with complex geometries and tailored microstructures. However, the rapid solidification, steep thermal gradients, and repeated thermal cycling inherent to PBF-LB/M pose significant challenges for the processing of conventional steels, which were originally designed for conventional manufacturing routes.
Many established tool steels exhibit e.g. cracking caused by evolving residual stresses, segregations, or formation of brittle phases when subjected to the non-equilibrium conditions of PBF-LB/M, thereby limiting their processability and performance. These challenges have intensified the demand for novel alloy concepts specifically designed for laser powder bed fusion and to enable robust processibility alongside superior as-built material properties. Consequently, the development of steels adapted to additive manufacturing is evolving into a distinct field of alloy design, aiming to leverage rapid solidification eventually imparting extended solubilities and nanoscale phase formation to achieve unprecedented combinations of strength, hardness, toughness, and wear or corrosion resistance already in the as-fabricated state.
Our research activities focus on cold- and hot-work tool steels as well as maraging steels for high-performance applications allowing for a robust processing without the utilization of build plate heating or extensive post heat treatments.
Anne V. Boehm, Stefan Pilz, Robert Wonneberger, Stefan Martin, Jan Sander, Lars Giebeler, Konrad Kosiba, Andreas Undisz, Andreas Leineweber, Julia K. Hufenbach, Lean tool steel processed via laser powder bed fusion: in situ observation of transformation induced plasticity, Materials Science and Engineering A 944 | 2025 | 148906. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2025.148906
Konrad Kosiba, Daniel Wolf, Matthias Bönisch, Kai Neufeld, Ruben Hühne, Tobias Gustmann, Jozef Bednarčík, Hongyu Chen, Xiaoliang Han, Volker Hoffmann, Lukas Beyer, Uta Kühn, Sergio Scudino, Lars Giebeler, Julia K. Hufenbach, Achieving exceptional wear resistance in a crack-free high-carbon tool steel fabricated by laser powder bed fusion without pre-heating, Journal of Materials Science and Technology 156 | 2023 | Pages: 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmst.2023.02.012
Konrad Kosiba, Tobias Gustmann, Jong Tae Kim, Jinwoo Seok, Juree Jung, Lukas Beyer, Sergio Scudino, Lars Giebeler, Junhee Han, Julia K. Hufenbach, Experimental cooling rates during high-power laser powder bed fusion at varying processing conditions, Journal of Alloys and Compounds 967 | 2023 | 171773. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2023.171773
Fabian Kochta, Annett Gebert, Uta Kühn, Steffen Oswald, Thomas Gemming, Christoph Leyens, Julia K. Hufenbach, Improved corrosion behavior of a novel Fe85Cr4Mo8V2C1 tool steel processed by laser powder bed fusion, Journal of Alloys and Compounds 867 | 2021 | 158887. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2021.158887
Jan Sander, Julia Hufenbach, Matthias Bleckmann, Lars Giebeler, Horst Wendrock, Steffen Oswald, Thomas Gemming, Jürgen Eckert, Uta Kühn, Selective laser melting of ultra-high-strength TRIP steel: processing, microstructure, and properties, Journal of Materials Science 52 | 2017 | Pages: 4944-4956. doi.org/10.1007/s10853-016-0731-9
Jan Sander, Julia Hufenbach, Lars Giebeler, Matthias Bleckmann, Jürgen Eckert, Uta Kühn, Microstructure, mechanical behavior, and wear properties of FeCrMoVC steel prepared by selective laser melting and casting, Scripta Materialia 126 | 2017 | Pages: 41-44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scriptamat.2016.07.029
Jan Sander, Julia Hufenbach, Lars Giebeler, Horst Wendrock, Uta Kühn, Jürgen Eckert, Microstructure and properties of FeCrMoVC tool steel produced by selective laser melting, Materials and Design 89 | 2016 | Pages: 335-341. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2015.09.148
