Abstract
High speed steels (HSS) were used as cutting tools and wear parts, because of high strength, wear resistance, and hardness together with an appreciable toughness and fatigue resistance. Conventional manufacturing process for production of components with HSS was used by casting. The powder metallurgy techniques were currently developed due to second phase segregation of conventional process. The powder injection molding method (PIM) was received attention owing to shape without additional processes. The experimental specimens were manufactured with T42 HSS powders (59 vol%) and polymer (41 vol%). The metal powders were prealloyed water-atomised T42 HSS. The green parts were solvent debinded in normal n-Hexane at $60^{\circ}C$ for 24 hours and thermal debinded at $N_2-H_2$ mixed gas atmosphere for 14 hours. Specimens were sintered in $N_2$, $H_2$ gas atmosphere and vacuum condition between 1200 and $1320^{\circ}C$. In result, polymer degradation temperatures about optimum conditions were found at $250^{\circ}C$ and $480^{\circ}C$. After sintering at $N_2$ gas atmosphere, maximum hardness of 310Hv was observed at $1280^{\circ}C$. Fine and well dispersed carbide were observed at this condition. But relative density was under 90%. When sintering at $H_2$ gas atmosphere, relative density was observed to 94.5% at $1200^{\circ}C$. However, the low hardness was obtained due to decarbonization by hydrogen. In case of sintering at the vacuum of $10^{-5}$ torr at temperature of $1240^{\circ}C$, full density and 550Hv hardness were obtained without precipitation of MC and $M_6C$ in grain boundary.
