PyroGenesis signs agreement for qualification of AM powders with tier one aerospace client
April 23, 2021
PyroGenesis Canada, Inc, Montreal, Québec, Canada, a provider of plasma-atomised metal powders for Additive Manufacturing and Metal Injection Moulding, has signed a qualification agreement with a premier global aerospace company for the production of metal powders.
Under this agreement, PyroGenesis will perform a standard qualification process typically required before a company can become an approved supplier. The process will, amongst other things, evaluate the company’s manufacturing methods, test samples of powder for batch-to-batch consistency and determine mechanical and chemical properties.
After these initial evaluations, larger volumes of powder will be used to print test coupons to further evaluate mechanical and chemical properties. It is expected that testing with real parts under real time conditions will follow this, before the final acceptance. Upon passing all acceptance tests, the process will be locked down, with no modifications permitted, specifically for the aerospace client. After successful completion of the testing, PyroGenesis expects to receive formal acceptance as an approved supplier.
“This Agreement with one of the world’s largest aerospace companies is a very significant achievement in further validating PyroGenesis’ Additive Manufacturing powder offering utilising our NexGen™ production, which provides significant cost and production advantages,” stated P Peter Pascali, CEO and chair of PyroGenesis. “This Agreement has been a long time in the making. The Client has visited our facilities and has evaluated our production process, and both parties have been eagerly awaiting the completion of our NexGen™ production line, which we announced earlier this week.”
“It is important to realise that the qualification process is not only exhaustive and time-consuming, but also quite costly for this aerospace client, which we believe underscores their confidence in the added value and competitive differentiation of our offering. With the previously announced improvements now incorporated into our game-changing powder production line, we are all highly confident in our ability to meet, if not exceed, this client’s stringent requirements. We fully expect to enter into similar agreements with other major players in the industry over the next several months.”
The qualification process has now formally commenced, and the first powder samples are expected to be delivered within the next several weeks.
