As the metal Additive Manufacturing industry continues to grow at a rapid pace, aluminium and aluminium alloy powders are gaining ever more attention. Component and equipment manufacturers are deploying immense efforts in exploring advanced aluminium alloys in order to target more complex applications that demand higher mechanical performance. As they move forward, the selection and optimisation of powders is becoming increasingly important. In this article, Jessu Joys and colleagues from United States Metal Powders, Inc. (USMP), identify the most popular aluminium alloy grades for AM technology and discuss the unique properties of each powder [First published in Metal AM Vol. 2 No. 3, Autumn 2016]
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For the third consecutive year, the Metal Powder Industries Federation’s Additive Manufacturing with Powder Metallurgy (AMPM) conference was held in parallel with its long established POWDERMET conference. This year’s event took place in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, from June 5-8, 2016. In the first of our reports Dr David Whittaker reviews three presentations that focused on the binder jetting process [First published in Metal AM Vol. 2 No. 3, Autumn 2016]
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As the metal Additive Manufacturing industry moves towards industrial production, the need for international standards covering all aspects of the technology becomes ever more pressing. In the following exclusive report for Metal Additive Manufacturing magazine, Fraunhofer IFAM’s Claus Aumund-Kopp and Frank Petzoldt review international progress to-date, summarise existing standards for metal AM and consider the challenges that lie ahead [First published in Metal AM Vol. 2 No. 2, Summer 2016]
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As one of the first major markets for metal additively manufactured products, the importance of the tooling industry has long been recognised. There is still, however, limited information available on what mechanical properties can be expected for the various materials used. This report by Harish Irrinki, Brenton Barmore, Kunal H Kate and Sundar V Atre reviews the published data on various steel powders and processing conditions as well as the mechanical properties that have been obtained using the Selective Laser Melting process [First published in Metal AM Vol. 2 No. 2, Summer 2016]
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As Additive Manufacturing moves out of the prototyping space and into production facilities with multiple machines, the importance of handling and processing powders, particularly titanium, becomes ever more relevant. In this article Dr Andrew Heidloff and Dr Joel Rieken, from Praxair Surface Technologies, Inc., review best practice when handling and storing titanium powders for AM. Titanium powder can be safely produced, processed, stored and shipped using appropriate precautions, however under certain conditions it can become quite hazardous. These hazards can be mitigated by following the suggested precautions reviewed below [First published in Metal AM Vol. 2 No. 1, Spring 2016]
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The much anticipated inaugural formnext exhibition took place in Frankfurt from November 17-20, 2015. Squarely aimed at an industrial audience, the event succeeded in attracting almost all the major metal Additive Manufacturing technology suppliers. Whilst taglined as the international exhibition on additive technologies and tool making, there was a real sense that it was the Additive Manufacturing community that most fully embraced this new exhibition concept. As Metal AM magazine’s Nick Williams reports, AM technology suppliers took the opportunity to make a number of new product launches and announcements [First published in Metal AM Vol. 1 No. 4, Winter 2015]
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The PM Titanium 2015 conference, held in Lüneburg, Germany, from August 31 to September 3, 2015, was the latest in the series of international conferences specifically focused on the processing, consolidation and metallurgy of titanium. As Dr David Whittaker reports for Metal Additive Manufacturing magazine, the ambition to apply titanium AM components in critical applications continues to drive researchers to further understand the influences of processing parameters on achieved microstructure and on the relationships between microstructure and mechanical properties [First published in Metal AM Vol. 1 No. 3, Autumn 2015]
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The growth in metal Additive Manufacturing has attracted a wide range of companies to enter the market to supply metal powders, however few have the track record of Hoeganaes Corporation in the production of powders for industrial parts production. In the following article, the company reports on the development of gas atomised titanium powders for metal AM, along with its ambitions to introduce more cost-effective water atomised powders that have the potential to help the industry move towards higher volume production [First published in Metal AM Vol. 1 No. 3, Autumn 2015]
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The consistency of metal powder particle size, shape and flow is essential for those companies looking to move to serial production of high quality components. The correct characterisation of powders enables the necessary quality control to ensure powder behaviour is predictable and repeatable from batch to batch. Dr Paul Kippax, Product Group Manager, Malvern Instruments, and Dr Robert Deffley, Research & Development Manager, LPW Technology, report on the process undertaken at LPW to ensure its powders meet customer expectations [First published in Metal AM Vol. 1 No. 3, Autumn 2015]
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The Rapid.Tech Conference and Exhibition was first held in Erfurt, Germany, eleven years ago and since then this annual event has attracted ever more visitors. Originally a German language event, the organisers have in recent years worked hard to increase its international appeal and this year the conference was held both in German and English with simultaneous translation. Dr Georg Schlieper reports for Metal Additive Manufacturing magazine [First published in Metal AM Vol. 1 No. 2, Summer 2015]
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