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Additive Manufacturing of WC-Co Cutting Tools for Gear Production

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Abstract

This article presents results relating to the production of a WC-Co gear cutting tool via selective laser melting (SLM). The influence of powder grain geometry and chemical composition on SLM process outcomes are firstly investigated by producing and testing simple cylindrical specimens, from which optimal process parameters and scanning strategies are establish for both the component itself and supporting structures. These parameters are then utilised to produce a real cutting tool that is subsequently employed for internal automotive gear fabrication.

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Acknowledgements

The authors kindly acknowledge the support of Samputensili Cutting Tools and, in particular, Dr. Ceglia and Eng. Iurisci.

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  1. Dipartimento Ingegneria Industriale (DIN), Università̀ di Bologna, Bologna, Italy

    A. Fortunato, G. Valli, Erica Liverani & A. Ascari

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  1. A. Fortunato
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  2. G. Valli
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  3. Erica Liverani
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  4. A. Ascari
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Correspondence to Erica Liverani.

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Fortunato, A., Valli, G., Liverani, E. et al. Additive Manufacturing of WC-Co Cutting Tools for Gear Production. Lasers Manuf. Mater. Process. 6, 247–262 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40516-019-00092-0

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