PowderCleanse: Solving powder-bed fusion’s waste problem

Reduce, reuse, recycle! Most of us try to include these ‘three Rs’ in our daily lives – often by using everyday items like reusable coffee cups or the humble lunchbox. We may not give them much thought, but they all reduce the waste we generate and our impact on the environment.  

But what about at work?  

Additive manufacturing (AM) is already showing great potential for reducing the impact of manufacturing on our planet in several ways, including waste reduction. But unfortunately, waste is still a problem in AM – in part, because it’s still developing as a field. Some problems just haven’t been solved yet. One example? Metal powder waste and reuse. 

Risky recycling

A typical powder-bed fusion build may only use 20% of the metal powder available. In theory, this is great news for the environment – 80% of material is available be used again in later cycles! But in practice, that doesn’t always happen. 

Metal products made with AM are often safety-critical parts. Manufacturers understand that the quality of their products relies on the quality of their materials – which means there’s no room for error. If there’s any chance at all that their material isn’t up to par, they can’t risk recycling it. Furthermore, the cost of metal powders can be expensive so not recycling has significant financial penalties.

In terms of quality, there could be as many as 20 different opportunities for contamination to occur during the manufacturing process, and there’s a lack of easy, effective ways to catch it once it’s happened. Samples are taken periodically for lab testing, but the delay can mean you’ve already made off-spec products without realizing it. The result? Usable powder is often discarded, because it’s better to be safe than sorry. 

But a recent joint project funded by Innovate UK has found a great solution: PowderCleanse! 

Add analysis, subtract doubt

PowderCleanse is an integrated closed-loop solution that combines automated sieving with on-line laser diffraction analysis via the Insitec instrument, simultaneously removing oversize particles and measuring particle size distribution. This enables the detection of either over- or under-size material that may have made it through sieving. As well as characterizing the powder and reassuring manufacturers that the analyzed material is ready to be recycled, this can also flag sieve problems – such as a break – as any sudden changes in particle size distribution are easily visible. 

The PowderCleanse system is fully enclosed, which provides protection both for the materials and for human staff. Ingesting powder is a serious health and safety concern for AM operators, so an enclosed system minimizes risk to them as well as preventing contamination. 

And the best part? All this can happen right on the production floor, without the need to spend time and resources on laboratory analysis. Recycling can be easy! 

Cleaner powder, greener future

Malvern Panalytical was proud to play a key role in the PowderCleanse project, alongside other great contributors including Farleygreene, Carpenter Additive, Aegleteq, and the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC).

As AM looks set to continue its exciting growth to become the new standard of manufacturing, we’re excited to keep supporting the industry with our analytical expertise – and to play our part in manufacturing’s greener future. Now, where did we leave our 3D-printed coffee cup? 

Discover how better analysis can take your AM processes from good to great – explore all our AM solutions here. 

To hear more about PowderCleanse, check out my recent interview with Additive Manufacturing website here! 

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