Tool Steel M2 Grade Powder for Binder-Jet 3D printing

Tool inserts have been 3D printed using LPBF (Laser Powder Bed Fusion) 3D printing route for over a decade. However, laser-based 3D printing process has some inherent disadvantages. LPBF process is too slow and offers only Maraging Steel for the tool insert application. This material can at the best get to 55 HRC post heat treatment making is unfavorable for many tooling applications.

Binder-Jet 3D printing offers ~5 times faster printing speed compared to LPBF 3D printing. INDO-MIM developed Tool Steel M2 grade material for Binder-Jet 3D process. We have been printing tool inserts since mid-2022. Currently 800+ mold inserts for Metal Injection Molding are running in production.

Given our material development and sintering expertise fine-tuned over 25+ years, our M2 Grade material offers 50%~80% increase in the wear resistance, 40% better machinability compared to conventional wrought M2 material. These are accomplished through finer grain microstructure and 99% minimum density post sintering. Our M2 material can guarantee 63~66 HRC hardness consistently.

Material properties at a glance

The icing on the cake is provided through 360 deg design freedom provided by Binder-Jet 3D printing. INDO-MIM can print tool inserts weighing between 300 grams to 8 kgs to near net shape including complex conformal cooling channels. Polish ability on our M2 material is on par with conventional tool steels.

INDO-MIM can ship tool inserts to your doorstep within 2 weeks max. This includes heat treatment. If you wish, we can finish the tool inserts to your final print utilizing our large in-house tool room in additional two weeks. Feel free to send your RFQ to InfoUS@indo-mim.com OR InfoHQ@ind-mim.com for quick feedback.