What is Metal powder dust?

Metal powders are precisely engineered materials that meet a wide range of performance requirements. These engineered materials offer wide latitude to develop materials with properties tailored to the application through metal alloying. These engineering properties are affected by several factors that include material type, powder fabrication process and the component manufacturing process
Powder metallurgy  is a highly developed method of manufacturing reliable ferrous and non-ferrous metal parts. The process entails mixing powders and compacting in a die to give shapes that are then sintered or heated to bond particles metallurgically. As more than 97% of the starting materials reach the finished product, powder metallurgy is a process that conserves both energy and materials.
Metal powder technology is one of the most established production methods nowadays in all kinds of industries
Metals commonly used in powder form include iron, steel tin, nickel, copper, aluminum and titanium. Refractory metals include tungsten, molybdenum and tantalum. Bronze, brass, stainless steel and nickel cobalt alloys are also used.
Metal powder dusts are made either by gas atomization , or grinding , and are then classified using dynamic classifiers or cyclones to obtain the precise particle size distribution. To form the final end-user product, the metal powders are then used in various consolidation processes such as extrusion, injection molding, blending, compaction, sintering.
The metal powders are characterized by their morphology, which can be described as irregular, blocky or spherical, and powder size. Physical properties such as hardness and ductility, chemical properties such as reactivity and impurities, and bulk properties such as flow properties, apparent density, tap density, compressibility, and green strength are among the properties by which the metal powders are characterized. High quality fine metal powders that are free of refractory and oxide contaminants with a narrow particle size distribution are used for the production of plasma spray coating targets as well as for the production of structural and functional materials.
Inert gas atomization, combined with melting under vacuum or under protective atmosphere therefore is the leading powder-making process for the production of high-grade metal powders which have to meet specific quality criteria such as spherical shape, high cleanliness, rapid solidification, homogeneous microstructure.
Metal powders are used in a wide variety of applications which include dietary supplements in food processing, additives in paint and other coatings, as pigments in printing and packaging, in solid fuels and cements. Probably the major area though is in the cost-effective production of metal components for a vast array of end uses.
Iron powder companies have introduced new powders for high-performance applications and aiming R&D at lower-cost alloying elements, bonding technology and high-density processes. A vacuum annealed tool steel powder was commercialized last year that allows routine compacting and sintering without adding graphite. Copper powder makers have developed materials for new applications such as metal injection molding, frangible bullets, heat management and welding electrodes.
Metal powder makers are developing new high-density steels and processes to achieve a density of 7.5 grams per cubic centimeter by single pressing and sintering. Achieving densities of 7.5 and above will certainly open up new markets, with PM gears and sprockets for automotive transmissions being but two such potential applications. Nonferrous powder producers are also developing new materials such as super high-strength bronze alloys for PM gears. Some other new applications for copper-base powder s include cold spraying, lead-free brazing alloys and special materials for frangible bullets.
Industry trends indicate the need for economical fine powder grades for a growing number of applications.
Particle size, shape and percentage yields are the important characteristics associated with the manufacture of suitable powders.
Advancements in high pressure water atomization
technology can now produce fine powders with unique physical characteristics.
Fine particle size distributions with shape modification, without requiring additional mechanical or thermal secondary operations, provide suitable alternatives to more costly inert gas atomization processes.
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