VBN Components deploys Vibenite 480 cemented carbide inserts for slurry pump wear zones

Swedish materials firm VBN Components has developed a hybrid manufacturing approach for slurry pumps, using its Vibenite 480 cemented carbide powder in additively manufactured inserts that are cast into larger iron pump bodies. Working with an unnamed pump OEM, the company created a Vibenite Nucleation Net Zone (VNNZ) that enables metallurgical bonding between the printed 66 HRC carbide insert and the cast iron substrate during the casting process. The VNNZ prevents the molten iron from melting or intermixing with the printed geometry, preserving both the wear-resistant material placement and the structural integrity of the final component. CTO Dr. Ulrik Beste confirmed the approach is now being used for multi-meter-scale pumps, with the printed inserts positioned only at the most critical wear locations rather than requiring the entire pump to be additively manufactured.

This development is a practical demonstration of a long-understood but rarely executed principle in industrial AM: using additive manufacturing only where it creates disproportionate value, rather than attempting to print the entire assembly. VBN Components has effectively created a hybrid casting-AM workflow that addresses the cost barrier that has historically prevented cemented carbide materials from being deployed in large-scale slurry handling equipment. The approach mirrors the logic of applying wear tips to work gloves — concentrating the expensive, high-performance material exactly where the damage occurs. For the mining and minerals processing verticals, where slurry pump replacement is a recurring operational cost, extending pump lifetime through localized carbide inserts offers a clear economic return without requiring a full redesign of the pump or a shift to all-AM production. The company's Vibenite 480, which it markets as the hardest 3D printing steel available, now has a validated integration path into conventionally cast industrial components.

The practical test for VBN Components is whether this hybrid casting-AM workflow can scale beyond the current unnamed partner and into the broader slurry pump aftermarket. The company has demonstrated technical feasibility and cost-effectiveness at the prototype stage; the next step is securing repeat orders from multiple pump OEMs or end users in mining and aggregate processing. For buyers evaluating wear-resistant solutions, the VNNZ approach offers a lower-risk entry point than committing to fully printed carbide parts, since the casting process remains conventional and only the insert geometry is additive. This is a measured, industrially grounded application of AM that does not require the pump industry to change its core manufacturing infrastructure.