The system is fitted with two powerful 350kW, 250kg melters and stands 8 metres tall. Metal powders made by inert  gas atomisation are commonly supposed to spherical in shape, but can suffer from a major problem known as “satelliting” where most particles have much smaller ones stuck to their surfaces. The situation gets worse as the powders become finer. The result is poor  flow properties and lower than expected packing densities.

One way to avoid satelliting is to quench the gas-atomised spray with water, which produces excellent sphericity but can lead to excessive oxygen levels in some applications.

In addition to designing and supplying the atomiser, ASL supervised its commissioning and undertook crew training at their Sheffield facility. Running the unit in was a protracted business, given the range of more than 50 different alloys, many supplied to several different specifications, which had to be carefully before shipments could commence.

CEIL is part of the world-wide operation of Castolin Eutectic, a division of the Messer group based in Frankfurt, Germany. They are leading suppliers of wear and fusion technology solutions and supply special alloy powders based on nickel, cobalt and iron to be used in various welding, thermal spray and brazing processes.