Liberty House — the international steel and industrials group — has launched a multi-million-pound programme to develop a new generation of powder metals aimed at revolutionising component manufacturing.

An initial £10 million project in partnership with the Materials Processing Institute on Teesside and Sheffield-based Atomising Systems Ltd (ASL) is designed to create a new range of powder alloys ideal for the 3-D printing of precision components — leading to lighter and more efficiently manufactured parts with zero waste.

Even simple applications of the technology could achieve huge savings for users. For example, these materials could halve the weight of aircraft seat buckles, saving over £2 million in fuel costs over the lifetime of each aircraft.

The world market for powder metals generally is estimated to be £8 billion a year, but the application of powders for 3-D printing is still in its infancy.

With part-funding from Tees Valley Combined Authority, Liberty House is establishing its development facility at the Materials Processing Institute on Teesside, which will be equipped with the latest vacuum induction atomiser to achieve higher-purity metal powders than those currently available.

The group’s longer-term aim is to establish a £60 million powder metals production plant on Teesside and help to make the UK an international leader in manufacturing with powder metals.

Simon Pike, Liberty’s technical director (www.libertyhousegroup.com), said: “Currently available powder is limited to stainless steel and tool steel, which is high-cost and not that suitable for the additive-manufacturing process.

“We will be developing a new generation of powder alloys with finer grains that provide better mechanical properties, making them stronger, tougher and more formable — as well as being ideal for 3-D printing.”

He added that these materials could be used to produce near-perfect components without the need for further refining of any kind and that multiple applications had already been identified for such materials in the aerospace, automotive, energy and industrial equipment markets.