Ni-free alloyed steel powder for manufacturing heat-treated compacts with tensile strength of 1 300 MPa and 1 500 MPa grades

JFE Steel has developed new grades of Ni-free alloyed steel powders, "JIP™ FM1300" and "JIP™ FM1500", with tensile strengths of 1 300 MPa and 1 500 MPa, respectively, after sintering and heat-treatment. "FM1300" is a Mo-prealloyed steel powder with diffusion bonded Mo fine particles on the steel particle surfaces for acceleration of inter-particle atomic diffusion during sintering and improvement of mechanical strength of sintered products. "FM1500" includes Cr and Mn as well as Mo for further improvement of the hardenability effect. The newly developed powders show almost homogeneous microstructures after sintering at high temperatures (≥1 200°C), and give the tensile strengths mentioned above after appropriate heat-treatments. In conjunction with the products developed previously, JFE Steel has lined up Ni-free alloyed steel powders suitable for a wide range of applications requiring tensile strength from 600 MPa to 1 500 MPa.