Renishaw presents additive manufacturing powder expertise at AMPM

By Niraj M Wanikar, Chief Editor, CNCTimes.com, 2017-06-05 20:30:00

Global engineering company Renishaw, will present its latest findings in additive manufacturing metal powder re-use at the fourth annual AMPM (Additive Manufacturing with Powder Metallurgy) conference 2017. The event is set to take place at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, USA between June 13th-15th.

Lucy Grainger, from Renishaw's additive manufacturing (AM) team, will deliver a talk in the powder recycling track on Wednesday June 14th at 2.15pm. In her presentation, she will discuss why it is important to understand the effects of metal powder re-use in laser powder-bed fusion AM. Lucy will explore the process factors that can lead to changes in the powder's chemical or physical properties, supported with experimental data from investigations using titanium alloy powder.

This year's show is co-located with Powdermet 2017, an international conference on powder metallurgy and particulate materials. The conference is sponsored by the Metal Powders Industries Federation (MPIF), a not-for-profit association dedicated to advancing the interest of the metal powder producing and user industries.

The conference focusses on metal additive manufacturing with powder metallurgy, and features industry experts presenting the latest developments in the field. This includes technical talks on materials, applications, technical barriers, process economics and new developments.

“In laser powder-bed fusion AM, consistent and reliable metal powder characteristics are essential,” explained Lucy Grainger, Product Marketing Engineer at Renishaw. “The exact extent to which metal powder can be changed physically and chemically still needs to be defined and understood.

“Renishaw is committed to research and development, with historically between 14 and 18% of annual sales invested in R&D and engineering. This investment is apparent in our additive manufacturing development work and our fully equipped Additive Manufacturing Solution Centres.''

Renishaw operates a growing global network of Additive Manufacturing Solutions Centres, where companies considering adopting AM as a production process can build knowledge and confidence with the technology through hands-on experience.

For example, the Solutions Centre based in Staffordshire, UK is supported by a well-equipped laboratory containing a scanning electron microscope (SEM) with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), high resolution optical microscopy, abrasive cutters and polishing, equipment for optical and microstructural analysis, density and hardness testing systems and tensile testing systems. The facility also contains equipment for powder testing and a Renishaw Equator™ gauging system for verifying the surface flatness of build plates.

Lucy is experienced in developing new metal powders for additive manufacturing via non-traditional routes, having previously focused on research and development for industry. She holds a Master's degree in Chemistry awarded by the University of Sheffield. At Renishaw, she specialises in metallurgy as a part of Renishaw's additive manufacturing team.

For more information, please visit www.renishaw.com/additive

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