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ENSpray-Formed (SF) Steels, Tools and Components
Spray formed steels
Spray formed steels are superior materials compared to conventionally produced cold work, hot work and high speed steels. Thanks to the rapidly solidified fine grain structure and the ingeniously economical production process, SF steels can offer the benefits of a powder metallurgically produced steel, but at a significantly lower cost.
Spray forming process
Spray forming is a process involving solidification of metal at a super high cooling rate. The melt is atomized into droplets of 10 – 200 μm and sprayed at a velocity of 300m/s onto a deposit substrate to form fine and uniform structures similar to powder metallurgy steel. However, the process is a clear short-cut comparedto traditional powder metallurgical processes as it bypasses entirely the mechanical compaction and related costly steps.
Properties of SF steels
The SF produced high alloyed steels, such as cold work steels and high speed steels, have fine and equiaxed carbides with excellent mechanical properties.
Generally, tensile strength of SF steel is 25% higher and impact strength 50-100% higher than ESR (Electroslag Remelting) steels of similar chemical composition. SF-steel is tougher at a given hardness, or works at a higher hardness under a given impact load with better wear resistance and life time. Due to the homogeneous structures, SF steel has also better thermal and/or mechanical fatigue resistance properties.
SF steels have excellent hot processing properties and can be rolled and forged with better results than conventionally produced steels of identical chemical composition. Also, they have better machinability and can be used at higher cutting speed and/or lower rate of cutting tool wear.
SF steel production at SFM
SFM does not produce SF steels into stock, but all production is based on specific customer orders. Customers can select from a set of standard SF steel grades, or SFM can advise on and produce a bespoke alloy, based on customer’s end-use requirements. The SF steels are available as round or rectangular bars, and in most cases also as rough machined, fine machined or assembly-ready components. Some typical representative grades of our SF tool steels are presented here:
SFM1021 Sprayformed Cold Work Steel
SFM1023 Sprayformed High Cr Wear Resistant Cold Work Steel
SFM1120 Sprayformed High V Wear Resistant Cold Work Steel
SFM2131 Sprayformed Abrasion Resistant Hot Work Steel
SFM3020 Sprayformed High Speed Steel
SFM3040 Sprayformed High Speed Steel with high V-content
SFM3260 Sprayformed Super Abrasion Resistant High Speed Steel
Tools and Components Made of Conventional Steels or Other Materials
SFM also provides tools and components made of conventional steels and other materials, such as hard metals (eg. Tungsten Carbides).
Other products and Services
R&D related to materials, materials technology and manufacturing processes
Prototyping or manufacturing trials, manufacturability studies
Survey and audit of potential third party suppliers/partners/subcontractors
Production monitoring, quality control
Technology transfer
Technology and equipment of SF Plant
SFM designs and produces spray forming production plants or related equipment, and provide related services for a variety of applications, depending on customer requirements.