Transport and Management of AM PowdersTransport and Management of AM Powders

LPW Technology, a market leader in the development and supply of metal powders for additive manufacturing (AM), offers two new products that enable higher efficiency and better quality control (QC) in AM.
 
“As the application of AM grows it is becoming increasingly important to build high levels of QC into the evolving supply chain, especially for industries working to certification standards,” said Dr. Phil Carroll, managing director of LPW. “Powder re-use is also a critical issue. LPW Powdersolve allows customers to manage and analyze the data needed to ensure that a powder, new or re-used, will deliver specified performance. LPW Powdertrace supports the development of efficient protocols for transport and storage to maintain a powder in optimal condition. Both tools aid industry efforts towards new levels of QC and efficiency.”
 
LPW Powdersolve is a secure, online, fully searchable powder characterization management system that handles all the analytical data required to assess the performance of AM metal powders. By automating the time intensive process of data collection and analysis it delivers reliable and efficient tracking of the changing properties of AM powders, from the virgin state through repeated use and blending. This information can be used to develop viable powder re-use strategies that reduce production costs, while at the same time safeguarding finished product quality.
 
LPW Powdertrace is a large-volume, smart storage container for the transport of AM metal powders. Incorporating sensors that monitor humidity, temperature, pressure, vibration/impact, and oxygen levels it provides detailed information on the conditions that the powder has been subjected to during transport, and in storage. This enables effective quality assurance from powder source to point of use, and the bulk scale of LPW Powdertrace eliminates the potential for variability associated with the use of smaller supply batches.
 
LPW Technology, Cheshire, UK +44 (0)1928 240 530 www.lpwtechnology.com

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