TheAdditive Manufacturer Green Trade Association(AMGTA) has issued a report outlining a new method of passivating metal powder condensate waste from the 3D printing process.
Developed bySintavia, a service bureau for aerospace parts, and powder specialistKBM高级材料, the new process involves adding the powder waste to a resin material to create a non-hazardous mixture. This allows the waste to be safely transported to recycling plants, where it can be reclaimed from the resin matrix and reused in additive manufacturing.
According to Sherri Monroe, the AMGTA’s Executive Director, the latest report is a “must-read” for companies that operate with laser powder bed fusion (PBF) technologies.
她补充说：“这不仅可以降低运输成本，而且还可以是可逆的，这意味着金属回收公司一旦收到了基础粉末，就可以无法允许使用，因此可以允许回收以前曾经有过的废物材料被放入危险的废物垃圾填埋场。”
使用AMGTA促进绿色3D打印
Established in 2019 by founding members Sintavia,Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corporation, andQC Laboratories, the AMGTA’s primary aim is to promote the environmental benefits of additive manufacturing.
In November 2020, a further12 firms joined the association, including major industry players such asGE Additive,Materialise,西门子数字工业, andEOS。最近，Stratasys also became a member of the AMGTAas part of its commitment to sustainability and social change.
Since its inception, the AMGTA has published a commissioned university researchpaper on the environmental effects of metal 3D printing。The literature-heavy review consolidates existing academic studies on the environmental impacts of the technology, comparing it with traditional manufacturing and diving deeper into specific materials and processes.
该协会还委托了生命周期评估（LCA），将3D印刷的航空航天组件与传统制造的航空航天组件进行了比较。由Rochester Institute of Technology(RIT), the LCA includes up to 18 different environmental indicators toquantify the positive impacts of 3D printing喷气发动机的低压涡轮机支架。
A new approach to waste transportation
Powder condensate is a term referring to the soot and powder spatter that’s sieved out of a reclaimed batch of metal 3D printing material. Sintavia currently mixes its powder condensate with sand and silicon oil before transportation. This eliminates any risks of ignitability, but the powder must still be transported as hazardous and the reclamation process is costly.
The latest AMGTA report explores a whole new passivation method, whereby condensate is mixed with a special KBM-supplied resin to make it non-hazardous, enabling transportation without regulatory restrictions. Once KBM receives the mixture, the firm separates the resin from the powder and reuses the metal to produce new powders or products.
Sintavia and KBM have already tested the passivation process with two different nickel alloys, Inconel and Haynes, reporting promising initial results. The team reported no hazardous situations during the tests, with the air quality in the testing environment remaining within acceptable limits throughout.
Although further tests will need to be carried out with different types of condensate waste, Sintavia and KBM have been able to demonstrate that the process can indeed be used to safely and cost-effectively transport metal condensate waste without logistical restrictions.
“I hope that other companies adopt this new process, as it will reduce their transportation costs since the underlying material is no longer hazardous,” said Brian Neff, the AMGTA’s Board Chair and CEO of Sintavia. “This report is an excellent example of the AMGTA taking a leadership role in developing sustainable use practices for additive manufacturing.”
The full report is titled‘Evaluation of the passivation of Sintavia’s powder condensate using KBM’s resin process’。
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Featured image shows metal aerospace components 3D printed by Sintavia. Photo via Sintavia.
