Continuum Powders reports 140% increase in nickel powder productivity
Continuum Powders, based in Houston, Texas, USA, has announced a series of production and technology milestones across its Houston operations, including significant improvements in nickel and titanium powder production, continued advances in process control, and expansion of its manufacturing infrastructure.
Since the first quarter of 2026, Continuum reports a 140% increase in OptiPowder Nickel 718 (Ni718) powder productivity and a 10-percentage-point increase in saleable yield. The company has also achieved an approximately 2.5-fold improvement in saleable Ti-6Al-4V Grade 23 powder yield over the past six months.
These milestones come as Continuum expands its Houston manufacturing footprint and prepares to introduce the next generation of its Greyhound atomisation platform.
Expanded production capability
Continuum has made significant progress improving Ni718 production efficiency at its Houston facility. These gains reflect ongoing improvements in equipment utilisation, process control, and production execution, strengthening the company’s ability to support commercial powder requirements and specialty material programmes.
Continuum produces OptiPowder Ni718 in the 15–45 µm particle size range for Laser Beam Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-LB), alongside particle size distributions suited to Binder Jetting (BJT), Directed Energy Deposition (DED), and other advanced manufacturing applications.
To support continued growth, Continuum is expanding its Houston manufacturing footprint by more than 7,000 square feet. The facility currently houses three Greyhound Gen III foundries, two of which are operational, with the third expected to enter operation in the first quarter of 2027.
Titanium yield gains
Continuum reports that saleable yield of Ti-6Al-4V Grade 23 powder in the 10–63 µm PBF-LB range has increased approximately 2.5-fold over the past six months.
The improvement reflects continued progress in process control, production efficiency, and operating experience as the company works to scale production of the material.
Higher saleable yield means a greater proportion of each production run meets the requirements for sale as PBF-LB powder, improving production economics and material utilisation while maintaining a focus on powder quality and consistency.
Enhanced sensing and automation
Continuum continues to advance process monitoring, sensing, and automation capabilities across its atomisation operations. These efforts are intended to strengthen process stability, improve operator visibility, and support more consistent powder production as the company scales its manufacturing activities.
Improvements in automation across the melting and pouring processes have helped Continuum improve process stability and control. Expanded data monitoring and collection provide greater operational visibility, while automated controls enable more precise adjustments throughout production.
The company’s experience operating its Greyhound platform at commercial scale is also informing the design and development of its next-generation atomisation technology.
Next-generation atomisation platform
Building on its commercial operating experience, Continuum is preparing to introduce the next generation of its Greyhound atomisation platform, designed to support greater production capacity, improved process efficiency, and increased flexibility across feedstocks and alloy chemistries.
The next-generation platform will also incorporate advances in sensing and automation as part of its broader design evolution.
Continuum will share additional details about the platform at Formnext 2026, November 17–20 in Frankfurt, Germany, where the company will exhibit in Hall 11, Stand A55.
