REPAM

Revolutionising sustainability in additive manufacturing processes.

REPAM addresses inefficiencies in additive manufacturing, focusing on enhancing material recycling and optimising processes for greater sustainability.

Current production methods, such as metal powder production, suffer from low yields (30-50%), with significant energy losses due to remelting and limited recycling options for advanced alloys. REPAM transforms the entire process chain through innovation, from material production to recycling and reuse.

The project develops advanced sensors and artificial intelligence models to monitor and optimise powder production processes, enabling real-time process control and the use of a broader range of recycled materials.

Scrap materials are explored for transformation into wires and powders for directed energy deposition and powder bed processes, while materials design principles are applied to create alloys more suitable for recycling. Additionally, the reconditioning of degraded metal powders offers sustainable reuse options instead of bulk remelting.

REPAM makes additive transformation sustainable and allows Europe to lead this green paradigm shift, with the associated competitive and security benefits for the entire value chain.

Eurecat contributes to the REPAM project through different Technological Units:

• Applied Artificial Intelligence (AAI): Development of advanced AI models for centrifugal and gas atomisation plants as well as for additive manufacturing processes, enabling adaptive process adjustments and ensuring precision and quality.
• Metallic and Ceramic Materials: Investigation of key parameters in centrifugal atomisation to improve yield and powder quality, using recycled feedstock for directed energy deposition (DED) applications in aeronautics.
• New Manufacturing Processes: Recovery of valuable materials like titanium through plasma-microwave spheroidisation, focusing on reducing contaminants and achieving mechanical properties equal to or better than the original material.

The REPAM consortium is made up of 17 partners from eight European countries.