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The production of metal, ceramic and metal-ceramic parts from powders is a well-established industry. Powder compaction, sintering, powder injection moulding, tape casting and hot isostatic pressing are among the conventional processes. With the advent of Additive Manufacturing, Powder Technology has become one of the pillars of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The Powder Technology and Advanced Materials Research Group (PTAM) is conducting several projects on the development of novel materials, and part manufacturing for the automotive, medical, energy and aerospace industries among others.

The group has a solid network of partners in Switzerland, Europe and worldwide. The results of the R&D activities are regularly published in international journals and presented at the major conferences in the field.

Technologies

  • Processing of sintered parts by uniaxial pressing and sintering
  • PIM Powder Injection Moulding (MIM / CIM)
  • Additive Manufacturing (SLM, SLS, BJ, SG-3DP)
  • Tape casting
  • Materials characterization, optical and scanning electron microscopy, mechanical tests, thermal tests, impurity analysis
  • Processing of conventional and emerging materials (shape memory alloys, nanoparticulate reinforced metals, ...)

Infrastructure

Full equipment for powder characterization and manufacturing of parts by powder technology.

  • 3D printers for additive manufacturing
  • Single axial presses for cold and hot compaction
  • Injection moulding machines for Powder Injection Moulding
  • Mills and mixers for powder milling and granulation
  • Mixers and extruders for PIM feedstock compounding
  • Hot isostatic press
  • Furnaces for thermal treatments and sintering under controlled atmosphere
  • MIM furnace for debinding and sintering
  • Laser diffractometer for measurement of powder particle size distribution of powders
  • Differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis
  • Dilatometry and thermomechanical analysis
  • Impurity analyzers (O, N, H, C, S)
  • Equipment for optical metallography
  • Scanning electron microscope with EDS, WDX, EBSD

More details on the complete infrastructure page

Team