Kennametal Inc. launched its Stellite 21 AM powder, a material that the company claims is the first Stellite powder qualified for laser powder bed additive manufacturing. This material is the latest addition to Kennametal Additive Manufacturing’s portfolio of high-performance metal powders for 3D printing.
Stellite 21 AM powder offers the corrosion and wear-resistant properties of the Stellite alloy family but for laser powder bed additive platforms to produce high-performance wear components for the oil and gas and power generation industries.
Kennametal Additive Manufacturing is the Company’s 3D printing and production business unit within its Infrastructure segment.
The business drew on deep expertise in metal powder production for hard facing and thermal spray applications to develop Stellite 21 AM powder. It is available direct to customers for use in their own 3D printing applications or in combination with Kennametal’s end-to-end additive production capabilities to make fully finished components.
The Stellite 21 alloy has a history of success in traditional manufacturing applications in the oil and gas, power generation and aerospace industries. Stellite 21 AM powder enables customers to achieve similar wear and corrosion resistance properties in additively manufactured parts. It is suited for flow control applications and can be integrated into complex designs to mitigate cavitation, erosion, or corrosion failures.
The powder’s composition features a Cobalt Chrome Molybdenum alloy matrix, containing dispersed hard carbides which strengthen the alloy and increase its hardness while decreasing the material’s ductility. It also has excellent corrosion and thermal shock and mechanical shock resistance.
Kennametal Additive Manufacturing uses gas atomization powder production to supply cobalt, nickel and iron powders for specific additive manufacturing processes. In addition to the Stellite 21 AM powder, the business also recently added Delcrome 17-4 AM and Delcrome 316L AM powders for direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) systems to its portfolio of additive powders. At its research and development, prototyping and production center in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, Kennametal Additive Manufacturing uses laser powder bed and binder jet printing technologies, combined with post-print processing capabilities, including sintering, hot isostatic pressing and machining, to produce fully finished wear components. These include parts printed with powders specifically designed for 3D printing, including Kennametal KAC89 tungsten carbide and Stellite 6 AM, a wear resistant cobalt-chrome alloy.
Kennametal
www.kennametal.com
