Equispheres launches new aluminium powders for AM

January 13, 2021

Equispheres has launched a new line of high-performance aluminium powders for AM (Courtesy Equispheres)

Equispheres, a materials science company based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, has launched a new line of powder products intended to assist customers in achieving optimal results for speciality metal Additive Manufacturing applications.

The company explains that the three new powders are variations on its original high-performance aluminium alloy which was engineered to offer enhanced features for either increased build precision, enhanced additively manufactured part strength, or faster production speed and volume.

In addition to the original atomised AlSi10Mg powder Equispheres produces, the new metal powder products include:

  • Equispheres Performance – powder designed to provide enhanced additively manufactured part strength and performance across a wide range of applications and that achieves a 20–30% increase in the a-basis design allowable over traditional powders.
  • Equispheres Precision – powder designed to support applications where fine features and precision (as related to CAD design) are of paramount importance. This powder has proven to provide a 50% improvement in dimensional accuracy.
  • Equispheres Production – powder designed to reduce the cost per part manufactured, with features designed to facilitate the rapid production of items without compromising mechanical performance. The company is working on parameter sets to increase production speeds by three to four times.

“Equispheres’ unique proprietary atomisation process is carefully controlled and can be managed with precision,” stated Dr Conlon, CTO at Equispheres. “Powder features such as PSD (particle size distribution), morphology, and chemistry can be optimised to achieve specific behaviour in the laser melting process and to meet defined application requirements.”

Evan Butler-Jones, Director of Applications Engineering at Equispheres, commented, “The unique nature of the Equispheres powder requires the use of special printer parameters to achieve the best outcomes. Our research team has been working with our industrial partners in automotive and aerospace to arrive at the optimal methods for the application of our powder.”

“For new customers, that knowledge on how to best use the powder is just as important as having the powder itself, which is why we now offer engineering service to facilitate the implementation of the powder into production,” added Butler-Jones.

Equispheres plans to announce an additional line of products, specifically for sintering and use in binder jet machines, in Q1 of 2021.

www.equispheres.com

In the latest issue of Metal AM magazine

Download PDF
 

Extensive AM industry news coverage, as well as the following exclusive deep-dive articles:

  • Aluminium Additive Manufacturing: How a new generation of alloys will fuel industry growth
  • Shaping a national Additive Manufacturing ecosystem: The strategic growth of metal AM in Türkiye
  • How metal Additive Manufacturing is transforming modern hydraulic systems
  • High-performance product development in the era of computational design: a case study with nTop and NASA
  • The Additive Manufacturing of record-breaking pure copper heatsinks for high-performance computing applications
  • The Additive Manufacturing of tool steels: how non-linear modelling enables precise hardness control

Join 40,000+ other AM professionals – follow us online

Don’t miss a thing – register for our newsletter

Don't miss any new issue of Metal AM magazine, and get the latest industry news. Sign up to our twice weekly newsletter.

Register now

Looking for AM machines, metal powders or part manufacturing services?

Discover suppliers of these and more in our comprehensive advertisers’ index and buyer’s guide, available in the back of Metal AM magazine.

  • AM machines
  • Process monitoring & calibration
  • Heat treatment & sintering
  • HIP systems & services
  • Pre- & post-processing technology
  • Powders, powder production and analysis
  • Part manufacturers
  • Consulting, training & market data
Find suppliers

About Metal Additive Manufacturing magazine

Metal AM magazine, published quarterly in digital and print formats, is read by a rapidly expanding international audience.

Our audience includes component manufacturers, end-users, materials and equipment suppliers, analysts, researchers and more.

In addition to providing extensive industry news coverage, Metal AM magazine is known for exclusive, in-depth articles and technical reports.

Our focus is the entire metal AM process from design to application.

Each issue is available as an easy-to-navigate digital edition and a high-quality print publication.

Discover our magazine archive…

The free to access Metal Additive Manufacturing magazine archive offers unparalleled insight into the world of metal Additive Manufacturing from a commercial and technological perspective through:

  • Reports on visits to leading metal AM part manufacturers and industry suppliers
  • Articles on technology and application trends
  • Information on materials developments
  • Reviews of key technical presentations from the international conference circuit
  • International industry news

All past issues are available to download as free PDFs or view in your browser.

Browse the archive

Share via
Copy link
Powered by Social Snap