The Material Behind the Print
Metal Powder Co is the reference resource for engineers, materials scientists, and procurement officers sourcing pre-alloyed powder for direct metal laser sintering (DMLS), selective laser melting (SLM), and electron beam melting (EBM). We cover feedstock qualification, particle size requirements, lot certification, and storage protocols — the unglamorous but critical material science that determines print quality.
Ben Stagl (fabrication veteran, SAIC professor) and Max Davis (MAXCNC) approach metal powder with the same rigor they apply to finished parts: process parameters matter only as much as the feedstock they’re running.
Why Powder Quality Is Process Quality
In DMLS, the powder IS the process. A 2% variation in particle size distribution shifts the laser energy density required for full fusion. Elevated oxygen content causes porosity and reduces ductility in titanium. Poor flowability creates uneven layer deposition and Z-direction defects. These are not edge cases — they are the dominant failure mode in DMLS operations using unqualified powder.
Every lot from Metal Powder Co ships with a certificate of analysis covering:
- Chemistry (ICP-OES, minimum 10 elements)
- Particle size distribution (D10, D50, D90 by laser diffraction, ASTM B822)
- Flowability (Hall flow rate, ASTM B213)
- Apparent density (Scott volumeter, ASTM B329)
- Moisture (Karl Fischer titration, where applicable)
- Oxygen and nitrogen (inert gas fusion, ASTM E1409)
Supply Chain We Cover
From powder atomization (gas atomization, plasma atomization, rotating electrode process) through storage (argon-purged drums, humidity-controlled warehousing), recycling (sieving, flowability testing of used powder), and disposal (safe handling of reactive metal fines) — we cover the full powder lifecycle, not just the sales sheet.