Swedish VBN Components offers five unique metals for additive manufacturing (AM) named Vibenite®. Through a specific production process they turn into materials with extreme wear and heat resistance. 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. You now have the chance to explore these alloys at Rapid + TCT Chicago, 2-4 May 2023.
Components exposed to a lot of wear often benefit considerably when the traditional alloy is replaced with Vibenite®. Knives in a food industry application have proved to last ten times longer than corresponding knives made with traditional steel. Vibenite® punches and dies perform around 50% better than a top, traditional PM steel when cutting doctor blades. Other successful examples can be found in the energy, aerospace, and automotive industries. In 2022 VBN and SKF revealed their collaboration since several years considering bearings with significantly enhanced fatigue properties.
VBN is the foremost AM materials developer of hard metals and can both 3D print on demand and offer license solutions which give the customers right to produce Vibenite® components in their own factory. In fact, the first license to a North American customer will be implemented in 2023. Within the range of materials is the hardest commercially available steel in the world, Vibenite® 290, and a unique cemented carbide type of material – Vibenite® 480.
Vibenite® 290 has a hardness of approximately 72 HRC and 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.
For further information, high-resolution pictures and logo, please contact:
Isabelle Bodén
VBN Components AB
Cell phone: +46 702-36 22 81
Email: isabelle.boden@vbncomponents.com
Switchboard: +46 18-24 07 60
Website: www.vbncomponents.com
About VBN Components AB
VBN Components AB is a Swedish materials development company, founded in 2008. The brand name Vibenite® stands for extreme wear resistance, heat resistance and complex shapes. The Vibenite® materials are patented and give high-performance products, improving the competitiveness of the engineering industry. The company sells metal tools and components in near-net-shape according to customer drawings, as well as license solutions. The products are manufactured directly from powder through 3D printing. The company has won numerous innovation awards, among which the SKAPA Award in memory of Alfred Nobel. VBN is an alumnus from Uppsala Innovation Centre, ranked as the world’s 5th best business incubator according to UBI Global. In 2017 VBN launched the world’s hardest steel and in 2018 the world’s first 3D printed cemented carbide.
Vibenite® is a registered trademark of VBN Components AB.