Additive manufacturing could offer promising advantages for sustainable production, particularly through material efficiency and innovative feedstock solutions. This study investigates the feasibility of producing AM powders from industrial waste, specifically AA5183 aluminum alloy chips from metal forming processes, using vacuum inert gas atomization (VIGA). Briquetted chips were melted under vacuum to minimize oxidation, and the molten metal was atomized with argon gas. The process achieved an overall powder yield of approximately 66% relative to the initial feedstock, with ~35% of the starting mass recovered as powder in the 20-63?µm size range suitable for laser powder bed fusion (PBF-LB|M). The obtained powders demonstrated chemical composition and morphology comparable to powders from conventional ingot feedstock, with only a slight increase in oxygen content due to chip surface oxides. Despite inherent challenges, such as dross formation reducing melting yield and persistent alloy hot-cracking tendencies, this work identifies a potential sustainable recycling route towards resource usage efficiency in AM applications.
Gobber et al. (Thu,) studied this question.