Vibenite® alloys
VBN Components has produced extremely hard, wear and heat resistant alloys suitable for additive manufacturing for use for components in demanding applications. You can have your components manufactured at VBN Components according to your 3D CAD drawing, or you can get a quote to be produced in your own facilities. licence we can provide.
Vibenite® alloys
Vibenite® alloys provide many kinds of enhancements in manufacturing. Thanks to the additive manufacturing process, you have the chance to design complex geometries, combine several parts into one, add channels for cooling, reduce weight, or add other features to your component without the need for any machining. You can also develop products quickly, as your ideas can be easily implemented by creating a new 3D CAD drawing. The materials are produced from gas atomized metal powder and are therefore classified as powder metallurgy (PM) materials. The method is called AM-HSS™.
All Vibenite® alloys are extremely wear resistant and have very high hardness, thanks to their ultra-thin and homogeneous microstructure. Hardness and toughness can be optimized for your needs by changing the heat treatment parameters. High performance combined with less material usage provides long lifetime, high productivity and cost savings.
If you want to know more about Vibenite® alloys, please contact us and request a catalog from us. We can help you choose the most suitable Vibenite® alloy for your components.
Benefits of Vibenite® alloys;
- Very high hardness
- Excellent wear resistance
- Zero porosity and full hardness in all zones
- Homogeneous microstructure thanks to AM-HSS™ process
- Very fast product development
- 3D printable
Hardness comparison of 1.2344(H13), a common tool steel, with Vibenite® alloys:
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Hardness comparison of Vibenite® materials with other materials produced with Powder Bed additive manufacturing technologies:
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Vibenite® 130
Vibenite® 130 is currently under development and will be the toughest Vibenite® alloy. The most common hot tool steel grade is an additive manufacturing grade similar to 1.2344(H13) but with improved properties. It can be used in the hardness range of 48-58 HRC according to your preference and has high toughness. This alloy will be perfect if you have a high demand for toughness and ductility but still want excellent wear resistance properties and design freedom. Suitable for many general applications, but also for cold work, powder pressing, punches, extrusion and plastics processing. The alloy also performs well in hot processes such as hot stamping, extrusion dies, and similar components.
Vibenite® 150
A versatile, wear-resistant PM steel with high toughness and fatigue resistance. It has a fine-grained Fe matrix and a hardness of about 58-64 HRC (600-780 HV). It is a good choice for functional prototypes, hard-to-machine parts, tool holders, cold work applications that demand both wear resistance and toughness, plastic material processing tools and wear parts.
Vibenite® 280
Vibenite® 280 is an extremely wear and heat resistant powder metallurgical material, especially suitable for cutting applications such as gear hobs, broaches, milling cutters and wear parts, or as a hard, heat resistant substrate material for PVD coatings. The fine microstructure with a high volume of fine, well-dispersed carbides ensures high toughness. Its hardness is in the range of approximately 63–70 HRC (780–1000 HV). For example, it has been proven to increase production capacity for industrial tools used in engine manufacturing. Its superior resistance to abrasion has been tested in customer applications.
Vibenite® 290
The hardest type of steel commercially available in the world: approximately 72 HRC. You can improve your existing HSS applications that require higher high temperature hardness or higher wear resistance. The high Cobalt content of Vibenite® 290 provides a very heat resistant hard alloy, while the high amount of carbide-forming element in it creates a very high level of carbide. The result is exceptional wear resistance with an outstanding combination of toughness and hardness. The unique composition of Vibenite® 290 provides excellent performance for metalworking operations such as gear hobs, electric metal cutters, milling cutters and dry cutting applications.
Vibenite® 350
This stainless powder metallurgical steel is well suited for high wear applications that require stainless properties such as plastics processing machinery (segments for extrusions and injection molding machine parts, segment screws), pumps and valve rings. Its high hardness of approximately 60 HRC (680–700 HV) and its high chromium content provide good wear and corrosion properties and are ideal for products such as pump impellers or valves that require both complex shapes and high performance. Such alloys are normally extremely difficult to machine, but this alloy can be machined normally.
Vibenite® 480
Vibenite® 480 is a patented cemented carbide type cobalt-chromium (CoCr) based alloy containing very high levels of tungsten (W) and carbon (C). It is a new type of material belonging to a group called hybrid carbides, with homogeneous hardness (67 HRC) and toughness in the whole structure. The alloy has superior wear resistance and hot hardness due to its high carbide content. It is a very temperature resistant material, so phase transformation does not occur at high application temperatures. Vibenite® 480 is intended for hard metal applications with complex geometry and applications where steel is normally used but replacement with hard metal will increase production efficiency.
Vibenite® material selection diagram
