The preparation and research of Spherical Molybdenum Powder for 3D Printing prepared by Plasma Rotating Electrode Process
By Shanghai Truer Background Molybdenum has excellent properties such as high temperature strength, good electrical and thermal conductivity, good heat and fatigue resistance, and low toxicity. It is used in aerospace, nuclear industry, electronics industry, and medical fields. However, its high melting point, difficult forming, and poor processing performance significantly affect its wider application. With the advancement of technology, additive manufacturing processes have emerged, providing a new means for the deep processing of molybdenum. Potential additive manufacturing processes include: Laser Engineered Net Shaping(LENS), Direct Energy Deposition(DED), Powder Bed Selective Melting (PBF-SLM, PBF-SEBM), etc. These process methods use metal molybdenum or molybdenum alloy powder as raw materials and manufacture parts using different energy sources. In order to obtain high-quality, spherical molybdenum powder or molybdenum alloy powder that meets production requirements, plasma rotating electrode atomization process is a good choice. Experiments Produce a batch of molybdenum powder using our company’s PREP equipment for performance analysis. Table 1 Main Process Parameters Current(A) Rotating speed (rpm) Feeding speed(mm/min) 2400-2700 12000-17000 0.8-1.0 Results and Analysis The particle size of the molybdenum powder produced conforms to the unimodal normal distribution characteristics, with D50=85μm. The powder particle size is mainly distributed between 60-100μm (more than 80%). The