Revolutionary Method Allows 3D Printing With Metal Harder Than Steel
SlashGear • • business
Key Points:
- Engineers at Hiroshima University have developed a tungsten carbide–cobalt (WC–Co) cemented carbide using 3D printing, achieving a hardness above 1,400 on the Vickers hardness scale, significantly harder than many common steels.
- The new 3D-printed WC–Co metal is produced more efficiently with less waste by softening elements instead of fully melting them, maintaining superior hardness and structural integrity for applications like crack repair and construction enhancement.
- Metal Additive Manufacturing (MAM), or 3D metal printing, builds items layer-by-layer from metal powder guided by digital models, enabling complex, customized shapes and is used with metals like steel, aluminum, and titanium.
- MAM technology is widely applied in industries such
