POWMIX Project
POWMIX is a process to realize custom powders for Additive Manufacturing by advanced mixing. SOPHIA designed, developed, realized, tested and qualified a new machine to guarantee a complete and uniform mixing.
The system is based on the using of fluidized beds assisted by acoustic fields.
The powders, of different materials, are loaded in a sealed reactor. Inert gas is blown into the chamber and the powders come into a fluidization status. Using an acoustic field, sized in frequency and amplitude, the flow is excited. In this way, the energy action win the interparticle attraction forces, providing a homogeneous powders mix.
Repeatability is fully guaranteed by the control of the process parameters.
The new powder blend is then used as a feedstock material in the Additive Layer Manufacturing process. This process is useful to produce complex geometries, optimized in material behavior, using both standard powders and custom mixing according to technical requests.
Finishing and mechanical coupling are guaranteed using CNC machining
POWMIX is used to create completely customized powder mixtures to be printed using additive manufacturing (Selective Laser Melting – SLM) as a production process. The main innovation is that the powders, used as raw material for 3D printing, are made up of different materials and not just one material and therefore, together with the SLM process, both complex shapes and unique materials are created. The main advantages coming from this approach include:
This methodology has already been widely applied to develop and manufacture advanced components, optimized in terms of shape and performance. This process allow to customize ALM material according to the working conditions of the items.
