Scientists that the Damascus blade can be 3D printed. It won't be as perfect as a blacksmith-forged one, but it will be noticeably better than a blade made of ordinary steel. All that is needed for this is to set up the modes of printing and cooling the workpiece.
A group of scientists from the Max Planck Institute, using a laser 3D printer using an alloy of nickel, titanium and iron in the form of powder for additive printing, printed a semblance of Damascus steel - a multi-layered sample of a steel blank with alternating layers of soft (ductile) and brittle, but strong steel. Blacksmiths in the classic recipe for Damascus steel achieved a similar effect with the help of many forging cycles with different modes of hardening (cooling) of the workpiece.
The scientists did the same. In the process of additive printing a steel billet, they paused printing for a while, allowing the billet to cool, and only after that they continued printing - and so many times. During reheating during printing, microscopic particles of nickel, titanium and iron inside the steel were deposited on the underlying layers and changed their chemical composition. A workpiece was obtained, the carbon composition of the steel layers in which alternated with layers of harder steel, alternating layers of steel with a more elastic structure.
Examination of samples of Damascus printed steel and a conventional sample printed in a continuous cycle showed the breaking strength of the Damascus billet was 20% higher than that of a conventional sample. The "Damascus" method took longer to print, but Damascus steel printing can be accelerated by controlling the laser power and using a system to cool the workpiece. In the end, it's a question of the right algorithm.
It seems that, over time, industrial additive printing will gain a tool for manufacturing Damascus steel products, which will expand the horizon of 3D printing. Just don't tell the Chinese about this technology...
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Source: 3dnews.ru