Wall Colmonoy has reportedly invested £500,000 in its research and development lab in Pontardawe, Wales.
According to the company, the lab now features analytical equipment for characterizing powders, including laser diffraction, chemical analysis, dry powder and fluid rheometry and optical and electron microscopy.
‘We know that particle shape directly influences additive manufacturing performance and our customers expect a high-quality product with the correct size distribution and a spherical morphology,’ said Tom Roblin, process engineering manager. ‘We have manual microscopy and electron microscopy which allow us to qualitatively check the products we manufacture but we also needed a technique that could provide quantitative data on a statistically representative sample.’
The company has acquired a Morphologi 4 from Malvern Panalytical, which has an automated optical imaging platform to analyze a large number of particles and can automatically quantify the shape and size distribution of those particles. The lab already features a SEM/EDS suite and ICP Spectrometer, Wall Colmonoy said.
‘Morphologi 4 is used to quantitatively measure the particle shape of our atomised alloy powders,’ said Roblin. ‘By investing in this measurement equipment, we can benchmark and improve our current processes and products. It will also aid in the development of a new range of Wall Colmonoy powders for additive layer manufacturing.’
This story uses material from Wall Colmonoy, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.
