PyroGenesis receives new US Patent for the Production of Metal Powders for 3D Printing

PyroGenesis Canada, a specialist in advanced plasma processes, announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) has issued the Company a new US Patent No. US 11839918 covering the Company’s NexGen plasma atomization powder.

PyroGenesis’ NexGen technology is fundamentally different from traditional plasma atomization. It enables a higher and more efficient production rate through a novel two-wire feed system. The wires are electrically charged before they are atomized. This innovation leads to a narrower particle size distribution and increased uniformity of the powders.

According to Mr. Pierre Carabin, PyroGenesis’ Chief Technology Officer and Chief Strategist, and the co-inventor of the technology, “The NexGen process is a significant departure from conventional plasma atomization, as the improved efficiency from NexGennot only targets higher production rates, but also narrower particle size distribution for more uniformity and consistency, and an ability to tailor particle size distribution (“PSD”) to customer requirements.”

“Plasma atomization is considered the gold standard for the production of Additive Manufacturing powder,” said Mr. Massimo Dattilo, Vice President of PyroGenesis Additive. “PyroGenesis not only invented the process, but coined the name, which is now widely used in the industry. Because of our dedication to continuous improvement, when we decided to re-enter the market, we did so with a mandate to advance plasma atomization to the next level through a redesigned system we named “NexGen”. The confirmation of this U.S. patent for NexGen is a key validation of our approach and another major box checked in our market re-entry progress.”

Traditional plasma atomization has a relatively low production rate compared to water and gas atomization because it is energetically inefficient. PyroGenesis Additive’s NexGen system addresses this problem by using two separate coils of metal (e.g. titanium) that are first electrically charged. This leads to a more efficient atomization of the metal and significantly increases production output.

“With a goal to produce the highest quality metal powders in the additive manufacturing industry, PyroGenesis Additive has taken a cautious, methodical approach over the past few years as we designed, then readied, our new NexGen plasma atomization process,” said Mr. P. Peter Pascali, President and CEO PyroGenesis Canada Inc. “With full commercialization achieved, and now with the U.S. patent confirmed for our technology, we look forward with great optimism regarding our future, with an ever-widening range of metal powder offerings becoming available to the additive manufacturing industry.”