Unbiased testing by Rice College’s Particle Move & Tribology Laboratory confirmed that reclaimed M247 nickel superalloy powder achieved superior additive manufacturing suitability scores in comparison with two extensively used stainless AM powders — 2205 and 316 stainless-steel.
The outcome sits on the heart of a brand new eBook printed by Continuum Powders, a California and Texas-based steel powder producer, titled The Round Manufacturing Playbook for Metallic Additive Manufacturing.
The doc is framed round a structural drawback going through steel AM provide chains: nickel superalloys, stainless steels, and titanium powders utilized in aerospace, protection, and vitality manufacturing stay depending on virgin ore extraction, globally concentrated refining, and lengthy logistics chains. That mannequin, the corporate said, creates publicity to import reliance, commodity worth swings, and rising Scope 3 carbon disclosure necessities — pressures that producers are being requested to handle concurrently.
Reclaimed powder outperforms on key AM metrics
Rice College evaluated the rheological habits of Continuum Powders’ reclaimed M247 feedstock utilizing FT4 powder rheometry, which measures powder circulation beneath dynamic and bulk circumstances consultant of powder mattress processes. The research targeted on the recoating part, the place circulation and packing habits most straight have an effect on layer high quality and construct consistency.
Reclaimed M247 recorded the best conditioned bulk density of the three supplies examined, together with the bottom compressibility at roughly 2%, the bottom Stability Index (SI), and the bottom Move Charge Index (FRI). On the composite Additive Manufacturing Suitability (AMS) metric — which integrates seven normalized rheological parameters — M247 scored roughly 0.6 towards scores above 0.8 for each stainless powders. Decrease AMS values point out higher recoating efficiency.
From scrap to specification
The playbook describes Continuum Powders’ Greyhound Soften-to-Powder (M2P) platform, which makes use of cold-hearth plasma melting mixed with inert horizontal fuel atomization to transform high-value scrap — together with decommissioned elements, revert materials, and failed builds — into specification-grade AM feedstock powder.
Manufacturing-scale execution is ruled by the corporate’s OptiVantage framework, protecting strategic scrap sourcing, managed soften processing, particle dimension distribution administration, lot traceability, and end-to-end logistics coordination.
