Mid Sweden University and the global engineering group Sandvik have signed a five-year agreement to develop Osprey metal AM powder for EBM, including an investment in an EBM system at the university – one of the first of its kind with completely new functionality.

“We have already launched the first project where we want to develop and industrialize a new alloy in the market for electron beam melting – a super-duplex stainless steel material that is very strong and resistant to corrosion. I believe that we will be able to initiate more of this type of project through our collaboration, says Professor Lars-Erik Rännar.

The five-year partnership agreement means that the parties initiate joint research and development projects. The new machine remains in Sandvik’s possession, but Mid Sweden University is responsible for operation and service. The goal is to develop even more materials in the Osprey series of products that help drive the industrialization of additive manufacturing in metal.

“Sandvik is a pioneer in additive manufacturing, with leading expertise along the additive value chain – from metal powder to finished component,” says Mikael Schuisky, VP and head of the Additive Manufacturing business unit at Sandvik. “We are very much looking forward to collaborating with Mid Sweden University, which has extensive experience in electron beam melting, and especially as we will focus on super-duplex stainless steel. This is a flagship alloy group for Sandvik, which we have perfected for decades. Earlier this year, we announced our ability to process our well-known super-duplex metal powder Osprey 2507 through L-PBF, and now we look forward to continuing to develop this material for other applications through additive manufacturing as well. “

“Sandvik’s collaboration with us is proof that we have conducted good research for a long time in additive manufacturing and specifically EBM, and it will help us recruit both national and international students to our upcoming courses at advanced level,” added Lars-Erik Rännar.

For Mid Sweden University’s current and future students in additive manufacturing, the new machine offers unique opportunities to manufacture and analyze materials. The university has also in recent years had a very high degree of utilization of the existing machine, which means that the new machine from Sandvik provides better opportunities for more research projects and this in turn can lead to an expansion of the research group.

“In the past, we had some limitations in how the smelting process could be controlled, but with the new machine and new software provided by another partner, we will be one of the first users in the world with this type of equipment. You could say that we go from being limited to putting together a puzzle with existing pieces to being able to design all the pieces ourselves in exactly the way we want. All in all, it opens up completely new ways of melting metal powder into a solid material that will give us fantastic research opportunities and hopefully useful results for Swedish industry, ”concluded Lars-Erik Rännar.