Metal powder gives the opportunity to create parts that would be impossible to manufacture with conventional machining or casting. Metal powder manufacturing has applications in a wide variety of industries.
Another technology for additive manufacturing with metal powder is directed energy deposition (DED). This AM technology uses a laser, plasma or an electron beam to melt the metal when it’s deposited from a nozzle. The nozzle moves according to the shape defined by the CAD file. DED is used to manufacture metal parts or to add metal to existing parts, for example to perform repairs.
Solid steel pieces can be created from metal powders using hot isostatic pressing (HIP). The powder is placed in a sealed container which is heated to just below the melting point of the metal. An inert gas such as argon is used to pressurize the metal with a pressure of around 100 MPa or higher.
This hot and pressurized process reduces the porosity of the material and creates a practically solid component.
To create this type of fine powder, metal is melted and then poured into an atomizing chamber, where high-pressure inert gas is injected into the stream of molten metal, transforming it into a powder comprising rounded particles. The powder is then sieved into different fractions to suit different production technologies.
SSAB is a metal powder supplier focusing on gas atomized steel powder. With this material, the properties of high-strength steel can be transferred into any complex shape by additive manufacturing – 3D printing. This will give new opportunities to design and produce steel components with high strength, impact toughness and hardness.
A cooperation between SSAB and the Swedish watch maker TRIWA resulted in the watch ‘Time for Decarbonization’. It's made with fossil-free steel powder from SSAB using metal injection molding technology.