A common way to create brazing filler metal (BFM) powder is by melting the raw metallic ingredients for the BFM in a large melting pot using induction heating and then pouring that alloyed liquid metal through a specialized atomization nozzle.

GE Additive announced that Sandvik Additive Manufacturing has become a strategic partner in its binder-jet beta partner program. Sandvik will work closely with GE Additive to become a certified metal powder supplier for a range of Osprey alloys that complement GE Additive’s own materials portfolio. Sandvik will also use GE Additive’s H2 binder-jet beta machine to support its internal and external customers. According to Sandvik, the materials collaboration with GE Additive provides opportunities to qualify its range of Osprey metal powders for the binder-jet platform and to improve product performance.

Wall Colmonoy – as part of its plan to improve product development, technical support and advancement – invested approximately $627,000 in the Research & Development Laboratory at its Pontardawe-based European headquarters. The R&D Lab has developed into a fully comprehensive suite of analytical equipment for characterizing powders, including laser diffraction, chemical analysis, dry powder and fluid rheometry, and optical and electron microscopy. With a move into materials for additive manufacturing, where powder properties such as particle shape and size are often more critical, there was a need to expand analytical capabilities.

To support the global demand for its high-alloy products, Sweden’s Höganäs will expand its Johnstown, Pa., facility in North America. The project, which is expected to create 25 jobs, will add new production capabilities to support additive manufacturing and other technologies. The company will construct a 24,000-square-foot building and purchase new machinery.

The ExOne Company announced a material collaboration with Sandvik Additive Manufacturing, a division in the global engineering Sandvik Group. The material collaboration will focus on qualifying and optimizing Sandvik’s Osprey metal powders with ExOne’s binder-jetting machines. It will include studying powder and binder interactions; developing 3D machine process settings; and creating post-processing heat treatments for various materials, including stainless steels, tool steels and nickel alloys.

Metal additive manufacturing or metal 3D printing are terms that everyone in the metal-processing industry is seeking to understand. The “what” and the “how” are becoming clearer every day.

Carpenter Technology Corp. acquired LPW Technology Ltd. (LPW), a developer and supplier of advanced metal powders and powder lifecycle-management solutions to the additive-manufacturing industry, for approximately $81 million. LPW is based in Widnes, Cheshire (U.K.), with additional processing operations near Pittsburgh, Pa. The company employs about 80 people.

Metalysis is starting up a metal-alloy powder production facility at its Materials Manufacturing Centre in Wath upon Dearne, South Yorkshire, U.K. The Generation 4 (Gen4) project was completed in the fourth quarter of 2017 and has since undergone hot commissioning, trial runs and transition into commercial production. Gen4 is the first facility to take Metalysis’ solid-state, modular, electrochemical process to industrial scale and can produce up to hundreds of metric tons per year of high-value, niche and master alloys.

Additive manufacturing (AM) has evolved from a platform of simple prototypes to the production of mission-critical components for use in high-tech industries such as automotive, aerospace and medical.

Tekna Plasma Systems Inc., a manufacturer of metal powder, will invest up to $128 million over five years to expand its global manufacturing output and boost its innovation capability. The project will help the Sherbrooke, Quebec-based company increase its capacity to over 1,000 tons per year and includes expanding manufacturing floor space, the purchase of production equipment and resources for product development efforts. The investment reflects Tekna’s long-term commitment to the 3D-printing market.