Swedish steelmaker SSAB is known for developing distinctive specialty products. Following the release of its emission-free steel powder for AM, the company introduces Armox® 500 AM Powder, a metal 3D printing powder designed for protective components.
The manufacturer claims it is the “world’s first protection powder” and describes how its combination with additive manufacturing as a manufacturing process aims to address the limitations of conventional armor plate.
The company explains that the protection performance of armor steel plates comes from absorbing and dissipating energy, whether it’s from projectiles or explosives. Components made from steel powder do the same and allow the use of geometry-driven designs for maximum protection at minimum weight. These parts would be difficult and often impossible to produce by machining and welding from plate.
Examples include solid parts like hinges or housings — like the camera turret below — to multilayered components with lattice or honeycomb structures inside. The latter results from designs optimized for additive manufacturing (DfAM), allowing for geometric freedom and organic shapes that provide enhanced protection at an extremely low weight.
If an armored vehicle is taken out of action because a sensor or aerial mount is destroyed it can put people in great danger, even if 99% of the vehicle is intact. Adding customized protection through additive manufacturing and Armox® 500 AM Powder will protect vulnerable installations such as cameras, antenna mounts, sights, radar, hydraulic couplings, cables, and other components that need to be on the outside to enable product functionality without heat treatment, the press release reads.
In the accompanying image caption, SSAB specifies that the printed camera turret can be used in its as-printed condition.
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