About us

“We are proud to launch ArcelorMittal Powders, a new business unit that reflects our vision to be at the forefront of innovation and sustainability in the steel industry. By producing and supplying Steel Powders for Additive Manufacturing, we are expanding our portfolio of advanced materials and solutions for the future of manufacturing. We believe that steel has a great potential to become the material of choice for additive, thanks to its versatility, performance and sustainability”.

Aditya Mittal
Chief Executive Officer - ArcelorMittal

ArcelorMittal: a decade of R&D and innovation in Steel Powders and Additive Manufacturing

Through its Additive Manufacturing and Digital Research Centre, ArcelorMittal has already collaborated with customers and partners on various projects, such as the development of a generative design steel motorbike chassis, the optimisation of AdM productivity through software algorithms and, with a JV partner, the production of over 10 tonnes of 1,600 different spare parts per year, for its own steel plants.

Two factors helped ArcelorMittal decide that now is an appropriate time to enter the steel powders market. Firstly, the belief that additive manufacturing, while still at an embryonic phase, offers exciting growth potential, and there are significant benefits to gain from being an early participant able to foster the direction of growth.

Secondly, feedback from industrial customers was that variations in batch-to-batch quality is a significant issue that is impacting production reliability and repeatability and is thereby impeding the broader uptake of AdM in larger production runs. This, plus the trend to ever-larger AdM machines, informed the decision to build an atomiser with a large batch size

2016

The birth of the Additive Manufacturing team

ArcelorMittal R&D forms a dedicated team to apply its metallurgical, process and application expertise in the emerging field of Additive Manufacturing.

2017

The first LPBF machine and the laboratory atomizer

The Avilés Global R&D center (Asturias, Spain) installs the first LPBF additive printing machine from Additive Industries, enabling the production of complex and lightweight parts using laser powder bed fusion (LPBF), one of the most popular metal 3D printing processes.

The R&D center also starts operating a laboratory atomiser to produce Steel Powder.

2018

Optimizing spare parts and consumables with Additive Manufacturing

ArcelorMittal R&D explores the potential of Additive Manufacturing to optimise the production of spare parts and consumables for ArcelorMittal’s steelmaking operations, which were originally designed with conventional manufacturing limitations.

The characterization laboratory (for both Powder and printed parts) and the addition of new Powder printing machines reinforce ArcelorMittal's commitment to Additive Manufacturing. New collaborations with key actors and entities in the sector expand the scientific-technological network worldwide.

2018

TheSteelPrinters: A joint venture to revolutionize heavy industry

ArcelorMittal and Frankstahl establish TheSteelPrinters, a joint venture aimed at revolutionizing heavy industry through the adoption of metal 3D printing for spare part production.

After several years of supporting ArcelorMittal maintenance operations, improving production reliability and supply chain performance, TheSteelPrinters grows its capabilities to serve other customers and industries.

2019

A 3D printed steel motorbike chassis: a remarkable milestone

ArcelorMittal and the Materials and Advance Manufacturing research group (MOD3RN) at Nebrija University collaborate to manufacture a 3D printed steel motorbike chassis.

This project combines ArcelorMittal's technology and expertise in additive manufacturing, design and simulation, with Nebrija University's developments in smart design technology and experience in racing vehicles, achieving a remarkable milestone.

2020

Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic with 3D printed respirator parts

In response to the COVID-19 global pandemic, ArcelorMittal R&D team designs and 3D prints parts for respirators certified by the Spanish Medicines Agency (Agencia Española del Medicamento).

These parts were donated to hospitals and health centres in Spain, contributing to save lives and support the health system.

2021

Developing new atomisation processes and publishing patents

ArcelorMittal R&D team works on the development of new atomisation processes to produce Steel Powder, using the atomiser at the Avilés Global R&D center.

The team also publishes five patents related to metal power for Additive Manufacturing, showing their leadership and innovation in this field.

2022

ArcelorMittal Powders: a new company dedicated to Additive Manufacturing

ArcelorMittal approves the constitution of ArcelorMittal Powders in Avilés (Asturias, Spain), and the construction of a facility dedicated to the production of Steel Powders for Additive Manufacturing.

The new company leverages ArcelorMittal's metallurgical knowledge and digital expertise to unleash the potential of steels in combination with Additive Manufacturing, offering solutions for various industries and applications.