LPW Technology, developer, processer, and supplier of metal powders and end-to-end solutions for additive manufacturing (AM) is working with Exactech, a provider of bone and joint restoration products.
One benefit of metal 3D printing is the flexibility to design tailored parts with complex geometries to mold to a person’s individual makeup. As important as the design shape, parts must be chemically inert and free from cracks or imperfections. Therefore, it is critical to have powders that are known to be free of contaminants and low in oxygen to avoid variations in mechanical properties of ductility, tensile strength, and hardness.
Exactech turned to LPW to ensure that the titanium powders they use in the AM process are within the same stringent specifications before each repeat build.
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As metal powders are reused they can pick up oxygen, and if not handled correctly become contaminated. LPW provides a powder testing service performing sieve analysis and looking at the detailed powder morphology, chemical verification, and oxygen and nitrogen determination on recycled powders to identify any critical changes to the titanium powder prior to reuse.
John Hunter, general manager of LPW Technology Inc. says, “Knowing the condition of your powder at every step of the way is important to have confidence in the integrity of the final built part and helps avoid costly failures and component rejection”.
(Left) PowderSolve records and reviews powder history throughout the material lifecycle, delivering traceability of material to individual components.
PowderSolve, along with the PowderTrace storage and transport hopper, are two products expressly designed to monitor and control powder condition, adding traceability, reliability, and confidence in the built component.
“Using PowderSolve, the ability to know the material condition and to track the powder history, or genealogy, through different blends, repeated uses, and different batches ensures full metal powder traceability in every individual part we build,” says Exactech’s Senior Director of Manufacturing Operations Ron Green.
Elizabeth Modic is the editor of Today's Medical Developments, Aerospace Manufacturing and Design, and Today’s Motor Vehicles. She has written about design and manufacture for more than 20 years.