Feasibility study of Hot Isostatic Pressing of tool steel powder with Alternative Particle size distributions (HIPAS)

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Additive manufacturing (AM) has gained significant momentum in the past 5 years due to its freedom in design and high flexibility, with an annual growth rate over 30% in metal sectors. It was predicted the rapid growth of AM will continue for the next 10 years and reach a market size over $45B. Many laser powder bed fusion processes require powder in a narrow size range, for example from 15 to 45 microns. This creates a great challenge for powder producer. A state-of-art gas atomiser, such the one at Liberty Powder Metals (LPM), can only produce about 40% powder in the 15-45 size range. For other atomising technologies, such as plasma rotating electrode process (PREP), the yield is even as low as 10%. Powder produced in other size range often ends in landfill or recycling. The low yield in AM powder has inevitably led to high powder cost.At LPM, we are actively pursuing cost reduction by lowering feedstock cost using recycled material and yield improvement by novel nozzle design. However, there is an urgent need to find a solution for powder outside of AM size range. This project has emerged following discussions with Carrs Tool Steels (CTS), the largest tool steel stockholder in the UK, on how the new LPM's atomiser could benefit the powder metal supply chain businesses and produce a faster recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic. This project proposes a new solution using alternative powder size distribution for PM-HIP, rather than a full powder size range currently required. The success of this project will enable powder producer to reduce powder cost, accelerating the adoption of environment friendly net-shape (PM-HIP) and AM manufacturing technologies. It will significantly strengthen the overall competitiveness of UK powder metal sectors.