| Abstract Scope |
Powder recycling and reuse in Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies offer a significant advantage over standard subtractive manufacturing processes, reducing material waste. As powder reusability increases over multiple AM build cycles, cost savings increase. However, there are currently no standards to determine the factors governing powder recyclability. Reconditioning of powders can increase the number of runs they can be used in, resulting in significant cost reduction, as well as in the associated waste heat recovery systems for process industries.
In this work, the effect of recycling nickel-alloy IN718 through multiple builds and the resulting changes in part properties were evaluated. In addition, assess the feasibility of reconditioning used powder and studying its effect on part properties. Two different approaches were adopted to analyze the feasibility: first, by blending virgin and used powder in various ratios; and second, by reconditioning the powder using the plasma spheroidization process. |