LPW's Additive Manufacturing Solutions on Display at Rapid+TCT

LPW's PowderTrace hopper. Image courtesy of LPW.

“We’ll be unveiling our smart solutions to meet manufacturers’ demands for traceability and control of metal powders,” says Nate Kistler, lead applications engineer with LPW Inc. “It’s exciting to be at the forefront of advances in the AM industry, and this pioneering powder hopper has the potential to greatly reduce the risk of contamination in metal AM. PowderTrace can be used to transport powders to the manufacturing facility and to store up to 470 kg of powder, reducing contamination, and minimizing manual handling and, among other possible issues, the risk of accidentally mixing powders from a different batch.”

The company will demonstrate how these smart hoppers can monitor the weight, humidity, temperature, pressure, and oxygen levels of metal powder. Data collected during transportation and storage can be uploaded into PowderSolve, LPW’s quality control software package, Kistler says, managing data from powders across multiple locations and multiple machines to provide a clear overview of production status.

For more information, visit LPW.

Sources: Press materials received from the company.