Metal AM winners in MPIF’s 2025 Design Excellence Awards announced
June 17, 2025
The winners of the 2025 Powder Metallurgy Design Excellence Awards competition, sponsored by the Metal Powder Industries Federation (MPIF), have been announced at PowderMet2025 in Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
This year’s winners demonstrate the best examples of diversities in the metal powder industry, showcasing high-performance components capable of meeting ever critical requirements.
Also presented at the event were the earlier-announced Distinguished Service Awards and the APMI Fellows for 2025.
The following are prizes presented in the metal Additive Manufacturing category. Winners in the Conventional PM category can be seen here, and winners of the Metal Injection Molding, here.
Grand Prize Awards
Electronic/Electrical Components Category for Metal AM
Winner: 3DEO, Inc
Component: Copper heat sink used in semiconductor manufacturing
The heat sink’s complex lattice design was developed in conjunction with the customer to maximise heat transfer efficiency while maintaining compatibility with Additive Manufacturing. The design is entirely self-supported during manufacturing, eliminating the need for build supports, and is optimised for automated de-powdering. This critical component is HIP processed to achieve 99.9% relative density, critical for pure copper applications.
Awards of Distinction
Hand Tools/Recreation Category for Metal AM
Winner: Nichols Portland Inc, NPI–MIM/MAM Division
Component: Bar and yoke banjo capo assembly for Paige Musical Products
A capo is used to temporarily shorten the strings on a banjo, raising the pitch of the unfretted or ‘open’ strings and changing the key of the open-position chords. The two parts are made from stainless steel and used in the as-built-and-sintered condition with no secondary processing.
The metal AM parts provide a 50% cost reduction compared with traditionally machined components.
