Characterization of 100Cr6 lattice structures produced by robocasting

Publication date: 5 May 2017
Source:Materials & Design, Volume 121
Author(s): M. Yetna N'Jock, E. Camposilvan, L. Gremillard, E. Maire, D. Fabrègue, D. Chicot, K. Tabalaiev, J. Adrien
Lattice structures of 100Cr6 steel were manufactured from metallic-based inks by robotic-assisted deposition (robocasting) using Pluronic F-127 solution. The stability and pseudo-plastic behavior of the ink were optimized, and allowed printing through 200–840μm nozzles, leading to macroporous architectures composed of 300–600μm diameter rods separated by 90–350μm pores, after debinding and sintering. A second level of porosity (sub-micron size) was controlled by adjusting the sintering temperature. The linear shrinkage due to drying and thermal consolidation was evaluated from images obtained by micro-tomography and volumes measured by mercury intrusion porosimetry. Whatever the thermal treatments, the microstructure was always mainly composed of ferrite – α. The mechanical properties were estimated both at a local level (Young modulus and hardness of the rods by nanoindentation, coherent with those of 100Cr6 steel) and at the architecture level (stress-strain curve of the structures, showing a plastic behavior related to a good consolidation of the structure). Thus, dense metallic lattice structures with a regular macroporosity and interesting mechanical properties can be easily obtained with these water-based metallic inks, which do not require a complex formulation nor high organic content as reported in literature.

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