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6 min ago 2 min read
Steel producer SSAB has awarded SMS group a contract for a new gas atomisation plant at its Oxelösund site in Sweden.
This strategic investment allows SSAB to meet the rising global demand for high-strength powders and to scale up the production of its metal powder developed for 3D-printing, such as SSAB AM Engineering’s steel powder.
The project marks an expansion of the long-standing partnership between SSAB and SMS group, following recent major contracts for cold rolling and electric arc furnace technology.
The plant’s technology uses argon or nitrogen as inert gases to atomise liquid metal into fine, spherical metal powders.
Additive manufacturing, commonly known as 3D printing, is a process of creating three-dimensional objects layer by layer from a digital file.
Unlike traditional subtractive manufacturing, which cuts away material from a solid block, additive manufacturing only adds material where it is needed, drastically reducing waste.
Sweden’s additive manufacturing sector is growing at 19% CAGR, according to Business Sweden. The $30bn global additive manufacturing market size is forecast to grow as much as five-fold by the early 2030s.
Driven by Industry 4.0, its focus has shifted from prototyping to end-use part production, supported by AI integration, stabilised material supply chains, and localised manufacturing.
