The Special Metals superalloy powder products facility at Princeton, Kentucky, was custom built for the production of high-purity
superalloy and other powders. It offers a combination of production
equipment and quality management unequaled in the industry. Current
output reaches around a million pounds (450 tonnes) of superalloy
powder a year.
The first step in the production cycle is closely related to
Special Metals' world leadership in vacuum induction melting
technology. The powder process begins with premium grade remelt
and virgin materials vacuum melted in a 2000 lb (900 kg) capacity
furnace at the top of the 30 ft (9 m) atomization tower.
The refined melt is poured through a tundish nozzle assembly
at the base of the furnace, impacted by argon, and dispersed
to create a fine powder collected in the lower chamber of the
atomization tower for further processing.
A series of sieves are used to control particle size distribution.
Typically, coarse fractions of powder are removed. For the most
specialized applications, the already fine atomized powders are
screened to provide material less than 50 microns in size.
Screened powder is blended and packed into containers for consolidation
by extrusion or hot isostatic pressing. After consolidation,
the containers are removed by machining. The consolidated powder
billets offer significantly improved ultrasonic inspection capabilities
compared with conventionally processed alloy billets.
Special Metals Corporation
Atomized Powder Products Division (PDF
694KB)
100 Industrial Lane
Princeton, Kentucky 42445, USA
Phone: +1.270.365.9551
Fax: +1.270.365.5910
scrocker@wyman.com
Map
<< Back to SMC Companies
|
