Ultrafine Stainless Steel Powder Premium Grade Powder Used In Advanced Manufacturing

This is the high-performance, premium-grade powder used in advanced manufacturing.

Primarily Gas Atomization. Molten stainless steel is disintegrated by a high-velocity stream of inert gas (Argon or Nitrogen), forming spherical droplets that solidify as they fall.

• Morphology: Perfectly spherical, smooth surface. This is its defining feature.
• Size Range: Tightly controlled distributions. Common for Laser Powder Bed Fusion (3D printing) is 15-45 µm or 20-53 µm. For MIM, it's finer, typically 5-25 µm.
• Flowability: Excellent, crucial for automated layering in 3D printers and uniform mold filling in MIM.
• Purity: Very low oxygen content due to the inert gas atmosphere.

• For AM: Ensures a smooth, consistent powder bed for reliable laser melting and high-density parts.
• For MIM: Allows for high powder loading in the binder, leading to less shrinkage and better final properties.

316L, 304L, 17-4PH, 316, 420.

• Metal Additive Manufacturing (3D Printing)
• Metal Injection Molding (MIM)
• Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP)
• Coating via Plasma Spray

This refers to powders with particle sizes typically in the sub-micron to ~10 micron range. They are characterized by their extremely high surface area.

• Specialized Gas Atomization: Standard gas atomization followed by advanced air classification to separate the finest fraction.
• Chemical Methods: Such as reduction of oxide powders or electrolysis.

• Morphology: Can be spherical but often less perfect than standard gas-atomized powder. Nanopowders are often agglomerated.
• Size Range: Generally < 10 µm. True nano-powders are < 1 µm (1000 nm).
• Flowability: Very Poor. These powders are highly cohesive and behave more like a fluid or paste due to strong interparticle forces (Van der Waals forces). They do not flow freely.
• Reactivity: Very high surface area makes them highly reactive (pyrophoric in some cases) and susceptible to rapid oxidation. Handling requires inert atmospheres.

• Specialty MIM: For producing micro-MIM parts with ultra-fine features.
• Sintering Activator: Added to coarser powders to enhance sintering kinetics and allow for lower sintering temperatures.
• Conductive Inks and Pastes: For printed electronics.
• Catalysts: In chemical processing.
• Energetic Materials: As a fuel component in pyrotechnics and propellants.

This is the most common and economical type of stainless steel powder, representing the bulk of the powder metallurgy (P/M) industry's consumption.

Water Atomization. Molten steel is broken up by high-pressure water jets.

• Morphology: Irregular, jagged, and raspberry-like. This shape is a direct result of rapid quenching by water.
• Size Range: Broad distribution, from a few microns up to 250 µm.
• Flowability: Fair to good. The irregular particles mechanically interlock, which is beneficial for achieving "green strength" in compacted parts before sintering.
• Oxygen Content: Higher than gas-atomized powder due to oxidation during water atomization.

• For Press-and-Sinter: The jagged particles cold-weld together under high pressure, forming a strong "green" part that can be handled before it goes into the sintering furnace.

304L, 316L, 430, 409, 17-4PH.

• Traditional Press-and-Sinter (P/M) Parts: Such as automotive components (sensor rings, exhaust flanges), appliance parts, and industrial machinery parts.
• Welding Electrodes & Flux-Cored Wire.
• Metal Additives for Coatings.
• Porous Filters (the irregular shape creates interconnected pores).

• Choose Atomized Spherical Powder when your process demands excellent flowability and high packing density. This is essential for Additive Manufacturing and MIM to produce high-integrity, complex parts.
• Choose Ultrafine Powder for highly specialized applications where extreme surface area or very fine features are required, such as in micro-MIM, catalysis, or as a functional filler. Cost and handling difficulty are significant factors.
• Choose General Water-Atomized Powder for cost-effective, high-volume manufacturing of structural components via Press-and-Sinter, or for applications like welding and coatings where particle shape is less critical than cost.