NAME Atomizer

The asset is a Hermiga 3 VI atomizer from PSI. It produces powder from the breakage of a melt stream through the action of high pressure water or gas (close couple die). The melt is obtained by induction melting under vacuum or controlled atmosphere (VIM system). The raw material to be melted can be pure metals, a combination of pure metal and precursors or pre-alloyed metals. The asset works with a crucible of approximately 1 l and subsequently around 3 kg of steel powder can be produced by heat. An upgrade to reach 10 kg/heat is ongoing. The temperature of the melt can reach 1850 °C and the atomization parameters can be set modifying the flow of gas/water, melt chamber overpressure, over-heating, nozzle design, die design, kinetic energy of the gas …The atomizer was a commercial version but it has been upgraded with in-house development looking for: control of the Particle Size Distribution (PSD) in search of finer or coarser powder and finer or wider distribution as a function of the application. The shape of the powder particles has been studied and their defects minimized (antisatellite system, control of the internal porosity, segregations, oxygen content, and impurities).