Retech receives orders for two PGA300 high-volume plasma gas atomisers
February 12, 2024
Retech, a division of the Seco/Warwick Group based in Swiebodzin, Poland, and with facilities in New York and California, USA, has received purchase orders for two PGA300 high-volume plasma gas atomisers. The customer and applications have not been disclosed, but Retech states that they could be put to use atomising a wide variety of refractory and reactive alloys, amorphous metal, or superalloys, all at high production rates.
With the ability to atomise titanium at rates exceeding 1500 kg/hour, the PGA (Plasma Gas Atomiser) offers versatility through its feedstock process, making it suitable for plasma melting and plasma hearth melting. The PGA can handle feed formats such as loose sponge, compacts, scrap, and ingots. Elemental feed can also be used, and alloying can occur directly in the hearth during the melting process. Paired with material feeders, this turns the operation of the PGA into a semi-continuous process that only pauses for the melting of a fresh charge, rather than having to open the furnace and restart the whole process every time the feedstock is consumed.
“I would say that the PGA 300 is our largest offering today, but the benefit of this platform is that we can further scale this technology. We have installed larger plasma melting equipment for our customers and we want to utilise this proven technology to continue to scale the PGA platform,” stated Earl Good, Retech Managing Director.
Retech’s atomisation dies allow for a narrower Powder Size Distribution (PSD) and better selectability of d50 average powder size than other production methods. The exact PSD, d50 and rates vary depending on the alloy.
With a production capacity of a thousand tons per year, the PGA300 is the largest high-temperature alloy atomiser that Retech has built to date.
Download Metal AM magazine
