Spherical Iron Powder manufactured by Hydrogen Reduction for MIM and AM Application

Presently, gas atomization and carbonyl process are the commercial technologies to produce spherical iron powders. Carbonyl iron powder is used for innovative solutions for a wide spectrum of different applications like diamond tools, magnetorheological fluids, materials absorbing microwaves, but mostly for Metal Injection Molding (MIM). Herewith, the high powder price has a considerable impact on the final product costs and is, therefore, a limiting fact. Coarser spherical alloy powders are applied for Additive Manufacturing (AM) with efforts being made to combine cheaper iron powders with master alloy powders to significantly reduce product costs. An alternative cost-efficient patented iron powder production technology was developed based on the hydrogen reduction of a spray dried hematite powder, which originates as a by-product of steelmakers. The production technology as well as the properties of the innovative spherical iron powder will be discussed.