Investigation of the effect of heat treatment on the wear behavior of maraging steel produced by additive manufacturing

The word "Maraging" is derived from the combination of the English words "Martensitic" and "Aging (Age Hardening)". As the name suggests, they are steels that have been rendered martensitic and precipitation hardening has been applied. To improve both the mechanical and tribological properties of maraging steel, studies have been carried out on different heat treatments and manufacturing methods. Solution and aging treatments come to the fore in heat treatments. In terms of manufacturing methods, additive manufacturing methods are becoming increasingly popular today. The wear behaviour of maraging steels produced by additive manufacturing and subjected to heat treatment has not been adequately examined in the literature. After the samples were manufactured by DMLS (Direct Metal Laser Melting) method, aging treatment (490°C- 6h), solution treatment (840°C -1h), solution + aging treatment (840°C -1h + 490°C -6h) were applied. #600 type sandpaper containing SiC was used as abrasive. Tribological experiments were carried out at different loads and sliding distances. Subsequently, the wear amount of the samples was determined and the specific wear rate was calculated. When the results were examined, it was observed that the as fabricated sample had higher wear resistance than the other samples, thanks to its high ductility and toughness values. When the samples subjected to heat treatment were classified within themselves, the sample with solution + aged treated showed the highest wear resistance. The main reason for this situation is that the abrasive SiC particles used in sandpaper are very hard and have a particle structure compared to standard materials