PyroGenesis Additive, a division of PyroGenesis Canada Inc., has announced new developments to its plasma-based atomization process, which produces metal powders for metal 3D printers.
Addressing the demand for new particle size distributions in metal 3D printing, the latest developments include the ability to produce extremely narrow size distributions which can be easily shifted to any particle size required for additive manufacturing (AM). This has resulted in significantly higher production rates, higher yields, and much lower operating costs.
“What this means specifically is that, when producing a specific size cut, you do not have to worry about selling the off-cuts, or getting rid of waste, as you did in the past. We can now shift the particle size distribution to a customer’s specific needs and then shift it easily to address another,” Mr. P. Peter Pascali, President and CEO of PyroGenesis explained. “To put it in perspective, in the past, you could meet a customer’s order with a specific production run, but you would have a significant amount of powder left over of a different particle size distribution that was either ideal for different 3D printers (“off-cuts”) or was waste. That means that, in the case of off-cuts, one would have to, hopefully, have another client for these cuts, which is quite challenging, as you can imagine, as not all particle size demands are equal. If the off-cuts are waste then the problem is a bigger one of disposal. In both cases, storage is also an issue.”
PyroGenesis says it considers this development to be significant, “if not more significant”, than its original Plasma Atomization invention and says it will help address the growing need for powders from new metal AM technologies.
The company began its AM ramp-up phase in March after announcing its spin-off into the industry last year resulting in the launch of its AM division in June. Today the company has also announced that an additional CAN$600,000 of previously issued warrants have been exercised as it looks towards increasing production capacity ahead of original expectations.
“This exercise of warrants, together with any future exercise of warrants and options, will enable us to implement plans to accelerate this growth, including our original schedule to increase our production capacity of metal powders for the AM (3D Printing) Industry,” Pascali added. “As previously announced, we are still looking at ways to have up to three additional powder production systems operating in 2018. To date, our metal powder production strategy is progressing far better than planned, and we are very pleased.”
PyroGenesis Additive will be exhibiting at this year’s TCT Show on 26-28th September at NEC, Birmingham. Register for FREE to attend.
