This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will investigate the use of fullerene chemistry to produce full density metal dies and molds. An eutectic-forming alloy of tool steel powder and fullerene-doped binder will be demonstrated to produce a blend of materials that greatly simplifies the open mold and Rapid Tooling (RT) processes for the fabrication of dies and molds. Ferroboron (FeB) will be alloyed with a bi-modal blend of tool steel powder to assist sintering of the steel powder and to react diffussively most of the boron with the fullerene carbon, producing a high strength boron carbide matrix. The proposed method will enable single-step, full-density, consolidation with linear shrinkage less than 1.5% and surface finishes better than 25 micro-inch rms. If successful, this powder materials-based technology will produce low-cost, high performance dies and molds using existing rapid prototyping apparatus and rapid tooling processes. Ultimately, the metal injection molding industry will benefit with the introduction of the new powder blends enabling much faster production with lower shrinkage and greatly improved surface finishes.
