Particle Testing Authority, Micromeritics’ ISO17025 accredited contract testing laboratory announced during the week a comprehensive physical characterization service for the 3D Printing industry that provides fast and efficient access to the techniques routinely used to optimize process performance and the attributes of finished products.

The most relevant characteristics of 3D Printing powders – metals, polymers, and other materials – include:

Particle size and shape

Density

Porosity

Bulk powder flowability

Surface area and topography

Environmental stability

PTA quantifies all these characteristics using state-of-the-art instrumentation backed by in-depth materials characterization knowledge. The resulting service provides remarkable value for Additive Manufacturing powder developers, manufacturers and users looking to augment, enhance or replace in-house analytical services with a more effective approach.

“We provide more comprehensive testing for AM powders than many in the industry can sustain in an in-house lab,” (…), “For example, in addition to high resolution laser diffraction particle sizing we offer other techniques such as gravity sedimentation which can help to elucidate particle size distribution, to robustly quantify the fine and coarse fractions that can be crucial to powder performance. We also use the Freeman FT4 Powder Rheometer®, an instrument used by leaders in the industry to sensitively differentiate the bulk flowability of AM powders in a way that correlates directly with printing performance.”

-Greg Thiele, General Manager of PTA.

The properties that PTA measure for 3D Printing powders influence or quantify how they will flow, pack and respond to thermal energy – melting or sintering. These are the characteristics that define processability, whether a powder will print and the throughput that can be achieved, and critical attributes of the finished product, such as resolution, strength and porosity. The resulting data support the development of new powders for specific printers, the effective differentiation of supplies, powder choice for a new application and the evolution of effective powder management and recycling strategies.

“Powder-based AM processes are exacting, and competing effectively relies on the application of a fairly extensive analytical toolkit.”, (…),“We’re delighted to be able to offer access to all the instrumentation required along with the know-how required to generate relevant data of exemplary quality. Buying analytical services can be extremely cost-effective when costs are robustly assessed against the expense of maintaining a full in-house capability, or worse, not being able to reliably predict or elucidate AM powder performance.”

– Greg Thiele

Get to know more about Particle Testing Authority’s Additive Manufacturing Powders by particletesting.com/additive-manufacturing.

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The article was gently conceded by TPA Micromeritics https://news.thomasnet.com/companystory/particle-testing-authority-announces-a-comprehensive-contract-testing-service-for-additive-manufacturing-powders-40032851, published on Jan15 2020, re-edited and published by João Andrade on Jan16 2020;

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Particle Testing Authority https://www.particletesting.com/industries-markets/;