Why the cheapest additive powder doesn’t give the cheapest parts

One of the key benefits of additive manufacturing, over conventional manufacturing methods, is the ability to reuse a batch of material which has been through the process. The business case for reusing powder is strong: the more times you can reuse a batch of powder the lower the final cost per part is, on the basis of less powder ‘wasted’. The number of times a material can be reused is often determined by the user, or a perceived industry standard, but either way material performance in delivering as-built parts is typically the key metric.

If we consider the final cost per part, there are actually a number of key factors which can influence that number. As with conventional manufacturing, material is generally seen as the highest cost factor in ongoing production, however powder reuse means that final cost per part does not have to reflect initial powder cost per kilo.

Two other key factors are how many viable builds can be completed from a single batch of powder, and how many parts can be produced in each build. The number of parts produced in a single build is entirely application specific and depends on the size of the part and the size of the available build volume. The number of builds that can be completed for a single batch is dependent on how quickly the powder breaches the specification limits. At this point we must consider the influence of powder evolution, how a material varies from initial specification.

For further details, view the case study here.

LPW is focused on developing and manufacturing metal powder for the additive manufacturing market. Quality for LPW means consistency of supply, full traceability and reliable material performance. Consistency of supply and traceability are factors which are controlled by robust quality management systems, optimised manufacturing methods and trusted supply chains.

Established in 2007, the company is a leader in the development, processing and supply of metal powders for additive manufacturing, and provides a comprehensive range of services for the additive manufacturing industry.

These services include the development of new alloys and expert application support. The company has developed a full range of optimised powders specifically for selective laser melting (SLM), laser metal deposition (LMD) and electron beam melting (EBM) with standard powders supplied from stock, and custom and development alloys available on request.