Characteristics of Welding With Maraging Steel
Maraging steels are iron-nickel alloys that are designed with a combination of good fracture toughness and high strength. The age-hardening of low carbon martensite results in the achievement of the properties. The metallic rod is ignited to generate a heated arc for the purpose of fusing metal pieces together (welding) by rendering the wire soft via hammering or compressing under an applied heat source. Welding is commonly used in die-cast tools for repair and modification. Maraging steel is used extensively for welding die cast dies.
What is Maraging Steel?
Maraging steel means high-strength steel with increased toughness. Maraging also refers to the aging of martensite, a hard microstructure commonly found in steels. It mainly is a strengthening mechanism transforming the alloy to martensite with subsequent age hardening. The maraging steel is mainly used in aerospace and tooling application. It also works well with electromechanical components which require ultra-high strength. These steels are carbon-free nickel-rich alloys with superior strength and toughness.
These steels are a special class of low-carbon ultra-high-strength steels. The strength is derived from precipitation of intermetallic compounds and not carbon. The major alloying element is 15 to 25 wt.% nickel and the major allowing elements are cobalt, molybdenum, and titanium. Common, non-stainless grades of steel contain 17% to 19% nickel, 8% to 12% cobalt, 3% to 5% molybdenum and 0.2% to 1.6% titanium. Other than strength, the working characteristics of maraging steel are useful from a manufacturing perspective.
What is welding wire?
It is a slim metallic rod that is ignited to generate a heated arc for the purpose of fusing metal pieces together (welding) by rendering the wire soft via hammering or compressing under an applied heat source. These wires are available for commercial use in different types and classifications. The welding works and base metal require a corresponding welding wire appropriate for the applications. These gas-shielded electrodes have a range of mechanical properties, arc behavior, quality, and cost.
There are 2 main types of welding wires namely — solid gas metal arc welding (GMAW) wire, composite GMAW (metal-wired) wire, and gas-shielded flux-cored arc welding (FCAW) wire. Select the correct wire diameter for the application after selecting the appropriate wire type. If the wrong wire is used for a given application, it will possibly result in wire burn-back.
The welding of maraging steel takes place at room temperature and the die cast insert is kept cool by overlaying the weld by successive small amounts instead of all at once. This avoids the introduction of heat to the die-cast quantities sufficient to age-harden the maraging steel, or to affect the parent insert material.