Thermal Plasma Spheroidization and Characterization of Stainless Steel Powders Using Direct Current Plasma Technology

The production of spherical powders has recently registered a boost due to the need to fabricate new printing materials for Additive Manufacturing applications, from polymers and resins to metals and ceramics. Among these materials, stainless steels powders play a leading role, since they are widely...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Plasma 2024-03, Vol.7 (1), p.76-90
Main Authors: Iovane, Pierpaolo, Borriello, Carmela, Pandolfi, Giuseppe, Portofino, Sabrina, Rametta, Gabriella, Tammaro, Loredana, Fedele, Nicola, Galvagno, Sergio
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
3D printing
additive manufacturing
High temperature plasmas
Innovations
Metal powder products
Metal powders
plasma
Plasma (Ionized gases)
Production processes
spheroidization
stainless steel powders
Steel, Stainless
Structure
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Summary:The production of spherical powders has recently registered a boost due to the need to fabricate new printing materials for Additive Manufacturing applications, from polymers and resins to metals and ceramics. Among these materials, stainless steels powders play a leading role, since they are widely used in industry and everyday life; indeed, micron-sized spherical stainless steel powders have specific characteristics and are considered as one of the best candidates for Additive Manufacturing systems and for application in a wide range of sectors. In this paper, stainless steel 316 L powders were used to explore and identify the best process parameters of a thermal plasma process able to produce spherical powders for Additive Manufacturing applications. X-ray Diffraction, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Particle Size Distribution and Flowability analysis were performed to characterize reagents and products. Powders with a high circularity (>0.8) and improved flowability (
ISSN:2571-6182
2571-6182
DOI:10.3390/plasma7010006