797 results found
    1. Powder Consolidation

      Powder Consolidation

      Our capabilities support the key technical challenge of innovating processes to efficiently fabricate and test material libraries, whilst simultaneously capturing sufficient information which can be shared with manufacturers to enable rapid deployment to occur. Additive Manufacturing technologies developed through Royce at the University of Sheffield hold the potential to displace existing technologies with reduced material waste and increased part complexity. Melt Spinner casts a thin ribbon of rapidly quenched amorphous material in 100g batches, and is suitable for Al, Fe, Ni, and Cu alloys. In powder metallurgy, HIP allows us to compress a volume of metal powder at such high temperatures and pressures, that through a combination of deformation, creep, and diffusion, you actually create a product with an homogenous annealed microstructure (compact solid) with minimal or no impurities in the materials. Meanwhile our research CIP is used to shape form powders into a green body, prior to sintering. This model allows the pressing of various shapes, including discs, bars, and tubes, and is therefore a near-net-shape process. Field Assisted Sintering Technology/Spark Plasma Sintering (FAST/SPS) uses a DC electric current to directly heat the mould and/or sample through Joule heating. This direct heating allows high heating rates and low processing cycle times to be achieved. Lower temperatures and mould pressures are also typical compared to conventional hot pressing and sintering techniques. FAST/SPS offers new possibilities to manufacture numerous materials with potentially extraordinary characteristics. Capabilities: Additive Manufacturing (Laser Powder Bed Fusion, Directed Energy Deposition, Binder System) Isostatic Pressing (Hot and Cold) Field Assisted Sintering Technology/Spark Plasma Sintering Conform Extrusion

    2. Powder Production

      Powder Production

      We're able to develop novel, bespoke alloys in small powder batches with our state-of-the-art powder production equipments. This can be trialled and evaluated through various NNS technologies in order to achieve the optimum feedstock for each process. With a range of equipment across our two sites we're able to develop and produce small batches of novel, bespoke alloy powder. These can be tailored to an optimum feedstock need for a variety of onwards needs such as additive manufacturing. Our capabilities enable us to produce powder through atomisation or milling, with the resulting powders being refined through the spheroidisation process. The Arcast atomiser utilises induction melting and inert gas atomisation to produce high-quality, technically-advanced powders from a variety of metals such as titanium, iron, copper, nickel. and cobalt-based alloys. The Union Process mills are fast, efficient and reliable for the fine grinding of media including carbon steel, stainless steel, chrome, and tungsten carbide. They are ideal for formulating, quality control, and scale-up studies, with results being repeatable for maximum credibility. The Tekna spheroidiser uses high energy plasma to create highly spherical and dense metal powders providing consistent results and better flowability. The process also removes contamination and reduces oxygen meaning it is a vital step for recycling powder. Capabilities: Atomisation Attrition Milling Spheroidisation