Hrvoje Cajner

Effect of Deep-Cryogenic Treatment on High Speed Steel Properties

Advantages of deep-cryogenic treatment over standard heat treatment of high speed steels for the purpose of obtaining better properties are quoted in an increasing number of scientific articles. This article deals with the most important improvements of high speed steel properties achieved by using deep-cryogenic treatment. The effect of deep-cryogenic treatment on impact and fracture toughness, on erosion wear resistance, and on the material microstructure has been tested on samples made of the PM S390 MC high speed steel. A set of test samples was heat treated by conventional methods (hardened and three times high temperature tempered), and the other set was deep cryogenic treated. From the results, it can be concluded that the application of deep-cryogenic treatment results in significantly higher wear resistance of high speed steels, but no significant improvements in toughness have been observed.

Optimisation of the Adhesion of Polypropylene-Based Materials during Extrusion-Based Additive Manufacturing

Polypropylene (PP) parts produced by means of extrusion-based additive manufacturing, also known as fused filament fabrication, are prone to detaching from the build platform due to their strong tendency to shrink and warp. Apart from incorporating high volume fractions of fillers, one approach to mitigate this issue is to improve the adhesion between the first deposited layer and the build platform. However, a major challenge for PP is the lack of adhesion on standard platform materials, as well as a high risk of welding on PP-based platform materials. This study reports the material selection of build platform alternatives based on contact angle measurements. The adhesion forces, investigated by shear-off measurements, between PP-based filaments and the most promising platform material, an ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMW-PE), were optimised by a thorough parametric study. Higher adhesion forces were measured by increasing the platform and extrusion temperatures, increasing the flow rate and decreasing the thickness of the first layer. Apart from changes in printer settings, an increased surface roughness of the UHMW-PE platform led to a sufficient, weld-free adhesion for large-area parts of PP-based filaments, due to improved wetting, mechanical interlockings, and an increased surface area between the two materials in contact.

Effects of thermochemical treatments on properties of maraging steels

Abstract Effects of such thermochemical processes as carburising, nitriding and boriding on properties of maraging steel grades have been investigated. Despite certain improvements in the properties of the obtained surface, at present, carburising and boriding cannot be recommended owing to problems in the layer quality and difficulties in dimension control processes. Nitriding has proved to be the most suitable process and subsequent surfacing with a TiN layer on the previously nitrided substratum of maraging steel provided additional improvement in properties.