Metal Powder - The Raw Material of Future Production

by G

Publisher - ALD Vacuum Technologies GmbH, Hanau, Germany.

Category - Engineering & IT

Alongside Mobile Internet, Cloud Computing, Robotics, Energy Storage and Autonomous Vehicles, Additive Manufacturing is one of the driving technologies in the near future. The potential economic impact in 2025 will be at the level of 400 billion USD. Additive manufacturing allows new designs and significantly reduces manufacturing costs. With the advantage of fast and economical prototyping the main applications are seen in the aircraft and automotive industries, and for production of medical implants, jewellery and special tools. The raw material used for these applications is metallic powder. Spherical powder shapes are beneficial for additive manufacturing processes, such as Metal Injection Moulding (MIM) or 3D-Printing. Vacuum Induction Melting in a crucible combined with atomization via an Argon high pressure nozzle allows consistent production of spherical powder particles having a narrow scatter band in terms of diameter, which isin the level of 15 – 60 µm. Nickelbase and Super-Alloy powders can be produced using this technology without any risk of oxidation and/or pick up of impurities. Reactive Titanium and Zirconium alloyed powders are produced using non-contact melting to avoid any kind of contamination. This paper considers the manufacturing of high quality metal powders, even from very reactive materials, by using vacuum technologies.

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