ArcelorMittal
Multinational steel manufacturer ArcelorMittal has entered the additive market as a steel powder supplier, with an industrial-scale inert gas atomiser in Aviles, Spain set to come online in the new year.
The company will manufacture steel powders for laser powder bed fusion, binder jetting, and direct energy deposition 3D printing technologies with the atomiser starting production in January 2024. ArcelorMittal has been working with metal additive manufacturing technology since at least April 2017, when it began using an Additive Industries MetalFAB1 platform to produced spare parts on-demand.
This atomiser will have a large batch-size production capability from 200kg to 3 tonnes and have an initial annual capacity of 1,000 tonnes. The company has also outlined its commitment to sustainability and decarbonisation as it enters the additive manufacturing market, with the atomiser set to produce powders from scrap steel, while also using renewable electricity, renewable energy, and using recycled and recyclable packaging solutions.
To commercialise the output of the atomiser, ArcelorMittal has established ArcelorMittal Powders. ArcelorMittal will deliver steel powders in size ranges suitable for all existing powder-based metal additive technologies, helping existing users of 3D printing in the aerospace, defence, automotive, medical and energy industries to adopt the materials. These materials, ArcelorMittal says, boast consistent quality, reliability and traceability.
"We are proud to launch ArcelorMittal Powders, a new business unit that reflects our vision to be at the forefront of innovation and sustainability in the steel industry," commented Gregory Ludkovsky, Chief Executive Officer of Global Research and Development, ArcelorMittal. "By producing and supplying steel powders for additive manufacturing, we are expanding our portfolio of advanced materials and solutions for the future of manufacturing. We believe that steel has great potential to become the material of choice for additive manufacturing, thanks to its versatility, performance and sustainability. The additive manufacturing industry has grown phenomenally over the past decade and is expected to continue to grow in double digits over the next ten years. While the production of steel powders is a new venture for ArcelorMittal, we are confident that our metallurgical expertise and solutions-based approach will provide our customers with the support they need to improve the quality and reliability of their additive manufacturing projects."
"Additive manufacturing is an area we have been investing in and building our capabilities for several years, and we are now ready to scale up our production and offer our customers and partners a reliable and competitive source of high-quality steel powders," added Colin Hautz, CEO of ArcelorMittal Powders. "From our facility in Spain, we will offer a range of steel powders tailored to our customers’ needs. A technology as innovative and disruptive as additive manufacturing not only allows us to think about changes in the design and manufacturing process of many parts and components we use today, but also exploit one of the inherently sustainable characteristics of steel – its recyclability."
