Additive Manufacturing of Hot-Forming Dies Using Laser Powder Bed Fusion and Wire Arc Direct Energy Deposition Technologies

Additive technologies are now widely used for the production of complex precise parts and have high potential for the production of forming dies. In this work, hot-forming dies optimized for additive manufacturing were developed and produced with wire arc direct energy deposition (WA-DED) and laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) technologies. The concept of lightweight hot-forming dies with a 2D-lattice structure was developed, which reduced the weight of each die by 56%, from 14.2 kg to 6.1 kg, in production using L-PBF. Maraging/precipitation-hardened steel 17-4PH was used as an alternative to traditional hot-working steels with slightly lower mechanical properties and a much higher processability in the additive manufacturing process. The workability of the manufactured dies was confirmed by forging tests on an industrial screw press.