Researchers from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have solved a major problem that’s seen with 3D printing metal powder, creating a novel low-cost alternative.?
IISc statement highlights how additive manufacturing makes use of a technique dubbed atomisation where a molten metal stream is broken up into fine droplets using air or water jets. It highlights, however, that even though it is used widely, atomisation returns poor yield, is expensive and is inflexible in material choices.?
IISc researchers have managed to address this issue with the help of a discarded waste product dubbed swarf -- something that’s left during the metal grinding process. While swarf is known to be like strings in shape, it also often throws metal spheres.?
Scientists in the past have theorised that such bodies go through a melting process resulting in such a spherical shape. This led up to some interesting questions such as if the heat from the grinding causes the melting or is there melting at all.?
IISc researchers however have successfully shown that these powdery metal bodies form as a result of melting due to high heat from oxidation -- essentially an exothermic reaction -- at the surface later.?
Researchers have refined this process to create large quantities of spherical powders that are collected and processed further to be used as stock material.?
Not only is this material cheaper than what the industry has been using until now, it is also more efficient. Researchers are of the belief that abrasion-based metal powder production has potential in high-performance applications like aircraft engines, where a high degree of specificity and sophistication is required.
The material works for common metals such as aluminium. Researchers however ask for scalability of the process for more rare metals such as tantalum and lithium, which are otherwise a pain to extract.?
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