If you want to optimise your additively manufactured parts, you should think about using steel materials before aluminium, according to ArcelorMittal Powders CEO Colin Hautz.
Hautz made the point on this week’s Additive Insight podcast where, in addition to detailing ArcelorMittal’s motivation for entering the additive manufacturing market, he also sought to explain the benefits of using steel over aluminium in the production of parts.
ArcelorMittal, as one of the largest manufacturers of steel in the world, will seek to differentiate itself in the additive manufacturing market by exclusively offering steel powders. And in doing so, Hautz believes the company will help users of additive manufacturing to exploit several advantages of using steel.
“I don’t have anything against aluminium, but from my mind, you should think steel first,” Hautz told the Additive Insight podcast. “The reason I say that is the volume of material you will need to print for the part will be smaller, your printing time will be lower and your printing cost then goes down. Maybe the steel part is a little bit heavier, but you’re printing faster, and then the question comes, ‘how much weight reduction do you want and how much is it worth?’ Looking at that cost balance is the question.”
ArcelorMittal, then, will be coming into the additive manufacturing market appreciating that what additive manufacturing can do is great, but users should always keep in mind what they need it to do.
Recognising that lightweighting is a key factor in many a manufacturer’s decision to leverage additive manufacturing, Hautz points out that steel has more strength density than aluminium, meaning a manufacturer would use less volume of material to print a steel part compared to an aluminium one. With less material being used, there is a potential cost-saving to be had, and ArcelorMittal is keen to provide its customers with that cost-saving.
“Steel is still the main material in cars despite aluminium chasing that market with lightweighting for the last 20 years,” Hautz said. “And we’ve gotten there by continuously improving the solutions and continuously improving the materials. When we look at the total cost of the finished part and what it has to do, then the first engineering question should be, can I do it in steel? If the answer is no, then I can go to aluminium or look at both steel and aluminium and then play the balance off of cost versus weight.”
