Recycled powder use is cost-effective for additive manufacturing

May 17, 2018
A recent study shows the possibility of reusing aluminum alloy powder as part of a cost-effective additive manufacturing process.

Recently, Ahmed Maamoun, a PhD candidate from the Additive Manufacturing Research Group at McMaster University (Hamilton, ON, Canada) led by Prof. Mohamed Elbestawi, reported a comprehensive study that shows the possibility of reusing aluminum alloy (AlSi10Mg) powder to be part of a cost-effective additive manufacturing process using the selective laser melting technique.

Related: Partnership to assess improving metal additive manufacturing production yields

The recycled powder was reused for 18 previous builds after providing proper recycling procedures. The powder characterization results showed similar properties between both fresh and recycled powders, and there was no loss in the quality of parts fabricated using the recycled powder. The research group also presented a developed map of thermal post-processing of the as-built parts, which illustrates the microstructure improvement under specific conditions with a variety of selection for the desired mechanical properties. This work has a significant impact on the production cost reduction of each product by hundreds of dollars, in addition to obtaining high-quality material properties after thermal post-processing.

For more information, please contact Maamoun at [email protected], or visit www.eng.mcmaster.ca and www.eng.mcmaster.ca/spotlight/research/additive-manufacturing-research-group.

Sponsored Recommendations

Looking beyond the incremental: Reimagining optical devices

Dec. 7, 2023
Rob Devlin, co-founder and CEO of Metalenz, shares the significant people that forged his path to developing one of the most promising optics companies in the world today.

Monolithic integration of functional structures into micro-optical elements

Dec. 6, 2023
A polymer-only ultraviolet imprint process potentially saves costs, simplifies the process, and increases the reliability of the optical element.

Manufacturing thin films with tailor-made electronic properties

Dec. 5, 2023
Unlock the future of optoelectronics as researchers at Leibniz IPHT in Jena, Germany unveil an innovative technique for precision deposition of thin organic semiconductor films...

Quantitative Microscopy with Deep Learning

Dec. 5, 2023
Explore the untapped potential of deep learning in video microscopy with our cutting-edge software, DeepTrack 2.2. Overcoming the steep learning curve, this innovative application...

Voice your opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of Laser Focus World, create an account today!