A new approach to 3D printing has been published in a Nature journal

In the last century, the improvement of mechanical properties of structural metals was mainly achieved through the creation of increasingly complex chemical compositions. The complexity of this ingredient increases costs, creates supply fragility, and makes recycling more complex.

As a relatively new metal processing technology, metal 3D printing provides the possibility to re-examine and simplify alloy composition, achieve alloy simplification, and enable simpler materials to be widely used.

On November 21, 2024, Professor Zhang Mingxing from the University of Queensland and Professor Christopher Hutchinson from Monash University in Australia published a research paper titled "High performance plain carbon steel obtained through 3D printing" in the top international journal Nature Communications. Tan Qiyi and Haiwei Chang were co first authors of the paper, and Professor Zhang Mingxing and Professor Christopher Hutchinson were co corresponding authors.

Zhang Mingxing, Professor at the School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering, University of Queensland, Australia. I graduated from Baotou Iron and Steel Institute with a bachelor's degree in 1984. I obtained my master's and doctoral degrees from Northwestern Polytechnical University in 1987 and 1990. From 1990 to 1993, I taught at Baotou Iron and Steel Institute. In 1997, I obtained my doctoral degree from the University of Queensland. In 2000, I obtained my master's degree from Queensland University of Technology. Since 2003, I have been teaching at the University of Queensland.
Professor Zhang Mingxing's research interests include additive manufacturing of metals and MAX phase materials, high entropy alloys, new alloy design through machine learning, and the application of crystallography in engineering materials, metal surface engineering, and grain refinement of cast metals.

As of November 2019, he has published approximately 210 academic papers with an H impact factor of 46 and over 6600 citations, with 117 i10 impact factors. His papers have been published in internationally renowned journals such as Progress in Materials Science, Acta Materialia, Scripta Materialia, Corrosion Science, Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A/B, Applied Physics Letters, Journal of Applied Crystallography, Journal of Alloys and Compounds, and Materials&Design.

Here, the author demonstrates that high-performance ordinary carbon steel can be produced through 3D printing. The tensile and impact properties of the author's 3D printed ordinary carbon steel are comparable to or even better than ultra-high strength alloy steels such as martensitic aging steel.

The inherent continuous micro zone melting and rapid solidification of 3D printing provide sufficient cooling, which can directly form martensite and/or bainite, enhance the strength of steel, while maintaining the uniformity of microstructure and properties, without size limitations or heat treatment deformation and cracking.

By manipulating 3D printing parameters, researchers can adjust the microstructure to control the properties of customized applications.
This provides a scalable approach to reduce alloy complexity without compromising mechanical properties, and highlights the opportunity for 3D printing to help drive alloy simplification.

Figure 1: Hardenability and Metal 3D Printing of Ordinary Carbon Steel AISI 1080

Figure 2: Microstructure analysis of 3D printed 1080 steel

Figure 3: Microstructure analysis of 3D printed 1040 steel

Figure 4: Mechanical properties

In summary, this paper investigates the manufacturing of high-performance simple carbon steel through 3D printing technology and finds that the tensile and impact properties of this carbon steel can be comparable to or even superior to ultra-high strength alloy steel after 3D printing.
The research results indicate that 3D printing technology can simplify alloy composition, reduce costs and supply chain vulnerability, while improving material recyclability, which is of great significance for promoting the sustainable development and simplification of materials. This technology can provide a high-performance material solution for manufacturing high-strength, complex shaped structural components without the need for complex alloying; Due to the customization of material properties through 3D printing, it provides opportunities for specific industries such as aerospace, automotive manufacturing, and construction to optimize component design and performance.

Source: Yangtze River Delta Laser Alliance