Manufacture of metallic powders using PREP

This article deals with the PREP® technology, which is used to manufacture metal powders. This technology consists in making fine droplets of liquid metal using plasma arc melting, which are then centrifugally ejected at the end of a bar rotating at a very high speed. This takes place in a large-diameter water-cooled tank in a helium or argon atmosphere. The rotation speed of the bar is the main factor for setting the average diameter of the particles. Particles are spherical with no satellites. This technology needs great cleanness and caution in order to avoid contamination. Typical particle size is about 100 μm..