Arcast begins year installing multiple gas atomisers in USA and Europe
Arcast Inc., Oxford, Maine, USA, has announced it shipped and installed several new gas atomisers in January 2020. The company, a producer of advanced melting and metal powder atomisation systems, has supplied atomisers to the Center for Manufacturing Research of Tennessee Tech, USA; CEIT, San Sebastián, Spain; South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, USA; and North Carolina State University, USA.
“The increase in metal powder research for Powder Metallurgy and AM applications is significant in the USA at the moment,” stated Arcast. “We currently have seven inert gas atomisers being supplied within the USA. It is good to see the USA investing in this growing market. This is a big change from just a few years ago when most of the growth in this area was in Europe.”
Tennessee Tech has received a VersaMelt multi-mode inert gas atomiser. Due to its wide range of melting and processing options, this atomiser is expected to give the research group the ability to cleanly melt and atomise a large number of diverse materials, including titanium, copper, iron, cobalt, hafnium, tantalum, tungsten and other metal alloys.
An Arc 200 arc melting furnace, with gas atomising option, has been installed at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology’s Materials and Metallurgical Engineering department. The system will enable the research team to work with industrial partners and government agencies to develop new materials and applications.
At North Carolina State University, the Center for Additive Manufacturing and Logistics (CAMAL) will use a VersaMelt gas atomiser for powder production to support its AM hub. The atomiser is expected to allow the centre team, led by Tim Horn, to produce the source material for its AM projects, eliminating long lead times for externally sourced powders.
Outside of the US, a large-scale inert gas atomiser has been shipped to Spain’s Centro de Estudios e Investigaciones Técnicas de Gipuzkoa (CEIT), for installation at its new powder development centre in San Sebastián. CEIT’s metal powder research includes the atomisation of metal powders for use in AM, magnetic materials and the automotive aeronautic sectors; the development of Powder Metallurgy steels; the manufacture of hard and soft magnetic materials using PM routes; the design of metal powders specifically for AM, and more.
