MTS will use the LPBF system to test and validate the metal powders it has developed in-house under real-world production conditions—not just in the lab.
The project is part of DN Solutions’ AM2CNC strategy, which systematically combines additive manufacturing technologies with CNC machining, thereby enabling integrated production processes for highly complex and high-precision components. By combining additive processes with downstream machining and other post-processing steps within a holistic manufacturing approach, DN Solutions covers the entire process chain—from powder to finished component.
Material Development Under Production Conditions
Founded in 2019, MTS Metal Powder GmbH & Co. KG develops and produces innovative metal powder alloys for industrial applications. Drawing on experience in the production of specialty alloys such as Raney nickel (NiAl-based), high-nitrogen steels, as well as Fe- and Ni-based alloys with high-temperature precipitates (e.g., carbides and nitrides) and Al-containing steels, the company meets the most demanding material requirements.
With the DLX150, the company will now have its own additive manufacturing capacity for material development. This allows powder properties to be not only analytically described but also verified within the process itself: in terms of build quality, repeatability, and on the finished component.
The new MEPOSAD 316L-NbTiC is a stainless steel-based, in-situ formed metal matrix composite (MMC) developed for the laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) process. The powder is produced using VIGA atomization, which ensures high chemical homogeneity and stable particle morphology.
The alloy utilizes controlled Nb-Ti-C saturation, which forms finely dispersed NbTiC nanoprecipitates during solidification and thermal cycling. These in-situ-formed particles refine the grains of the 316L matrix and inhibit dislocation motion via the Orowan mechanism. In the L-PBF process, the material demonstrated stable processability and produced a crack-free microstructure with a relative density of over 99.95%. Hardness increases by more than 50% compared to standard 316L, confirming the effectiveness of the reinforcement concept.
Training and parameter development with the MTS team have already begun.
“A metal powder only proves itself in the machine,” says Alexander Höhne, Managing Director of MTS Metal Powder GmbH & Co. KG. “With the DLX150, we can test and validate the materials we’ve developed under real production conditions and show our customers what can actually be achieved with them. This significantly shortens our development cycles and makes our results transparent.”
The DLX150 is the entry-level model in DN Solutions’ DLX series. With a working chamber diameter of 150 millimeters and a height of 180 millimeters, overall dimensions of 1.63 × 1.22 × 2.25 meters, and a weight of 1,200 kilograms, it is designed for laboratory and development environments. Coating thicknesses ranging from 30 to 90 micrometers, a beam diameter of 80 micrometers, and a positioning accuracy of less than 30 micrometers provide the foundation for reliable test series; a continuous filter system handles the purification of the protective gas.
