PSI celebrates thirty years in gas atomisation technologies
September 19, 2017
PSI’s production-scale Hermiga system (Courtesy PSI Ltd)
In 2017, Phoenix Scientific Industries Ltd (PSI), Hailsham, East Sussex, UK, celebrates its thirty year anniversary. The company is best known for its activities in gas atomisation equipment for the production of metal powders and in particular, close-coupled atomisation for very fine powder manufacture.
PSI was founded in 1987 with the goal of developing gas atomised metal powders for the then-emerging Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) industry. Since then, the company has continuously developed its technology in response to the evolving application areas for gas atomised metal powders, notably in the Metal Injection Moulding industry and more recently in metal Additive Manufacturing processes.
The company was founded by Bill and Jan Hopkins and backed by Lucius Cary of venture capital company Oxford Technology, and has grown from building small research machines for universities to supplying multi-million dollar production systems for large corporations. Today, the company has installed systems in twenty one countries on seven continents.
PSI has a history of devoting much of its resources to R&D, believing that innovation is the key to success in a world of ever faster technology dissemination. To date, the company has been involved in research projects internally, single-client and collaboratively, both in the UK and internationally.
A sister company to PSI, Metal Powder and Process Ltd (MPP), was recently formed with the purpose of developing and producing novel powder alloys for demanding applications, placing the company in a strong position to address world demand for new PM applications requiring high purity spherical metal powders.
PSI is also involved in a number of collaborative research projects addressing the need to develop new advanced metal powders and innovative production processes, as well as building a knowledge base on how these powders perform in today’s advanced applications.
The Autumn 2017 issue of PIM International features an in-depth report on PSI’s thirty-year story and recent move into metal powder production. For more information on the company and its developments, download your free copy of the digital edition here.
