Use of plasma nitriding to improve the wear and corrosion resistance of 18Ni-300 maraging steel manufactured by selective laser melting.

18Ni-300 maraging steel manufactured by selective laser melting was plasma nitrided to improve its wear and corrosion resistance. The effects of a prior solution treatment, aging and the combination of both on the microstructure and the properties after nitriding were investigated. The results were compared with conventionally produced 18Ni-300 counterparts subjected to the same heat- and thermo-chemical treatments. The plasma nitriding was performed under the same conditions (temperature of 520 °C and time of 6 h) as the aging in order to investigate whether the nitriding and the aging could be carried out simultaneously in a single step. The aim of this work was to provide a better understanding of the morphology and chemical composition of the nitrided layer in the additive-manufactured maraging steel as a function of the prior heat treatments and to compare the wear and corrosion resistance with those of conventional maraging steel. The results show that nitriding without any prior aging leads to cracks in the compound layer, while nitriding of the prior-heat-treated additive-manufactured maraging steel leads to benefits from the thermochemical treatment in terms of wear and corrosion resistance. Some explanations for the origins of the cracks and pores in the nitride layers are provided.