VBN COMPONENTS Redefining wear resistance by 3D printing of extremely hard metals.

No other company can 3D print metals with such high carbide content. Compared to traditional materials, they often give an application increased performance and significantly improve the lifetime of a component. We are the foremost AM materials developer of hard metals and can both 3D print on demand and offer license solutions which give the right to produce Vibenite® components in your own factory. Within our range of materials is the hardest commercially available steel in the world, Vibenite® 290, and a unique cemented carbide type of material – Vibenite® 480.
Components exposed to a lot of wear often improve significantly when the current alloy is replaced with Vibenite®. We have seen very successful examples in the energy, aerospace, automotive and food industry. Our gear cutting hobs have proved to run twice as long and cut twice as deep as regular gear hobs in a top, traditional steel, which lowers production cost by 30–40%. Knives in a food industry application have to date been running more than twenty times longer than corresponding knives made with traditional steel, after being replaced with a more wear-resistant Vibenite® material.
Vibenite® 290 is also known as ”The world’s hardest steel”. With a hardness of approximately 72 HRC it would not be possible to machine traditionally. But with 3D printing you can create complex shapes and add new functions such as cooling channels, or reduce the weight of a component.
Vibenite® 480 is a cemented carbide-like material that offers higher toughness than traditional cemented carbide, as well as more heat resistance than high-speed steel. The high carbide content of the material gives excellent wear resistance and long-term heat resistance. It is also possible to produce more complex shapes than traditionally and manufacture much larger components in one piece.