The Manufacturing Process of Spherical Aluminum Powder
Release date:
2020-07-18
Do you know the manufacturing process of spherical aluminum powder? Spherical aluminum powder has a remarkably wide range of applications—it’s a fundamental raw material used in industries like metal pigments and chemicals. In fact, you’ll find it playing a role in many aspects of daily life, such as automotive paint on car bodies, toy coatings on toys, exterior wall paints, and even printing on books. So, are you familiar with how spherical aluminum powder is made? Before diving into that, let’s first take a closer look at its definition. Generally speaking, spherical aluminum powder is a basic raw material that typically appears in powder form. It boasts characteristics like low impurity levels, uniform particle size, narrow distribution range, and high tap density. As far as I know, there are two main production processes for spherical aluminum powder. Let’s explore them together: 1. **Dry Process** The dry process is a more traditional manufacturing method, also known as air atomization. It works by spraying molten aluminum through a nozzle, turning it into a fine mist. This aluminum mist then condenses into tiny aluminum particles, which are subsequently screened and graded to produce the final product. While this method offers high production capacity and relatively low costs, it comes with significant safety concerns. During the process, aluminum powder becomes suspended in airborne gas streams, creating dust clouds that can accumulate static electricity. If these aluminum dust clouds reach a certain concentration and encounter even a small spark, they could trigger an explosive combustion. 2. **Wet Process** On the other hand, the wet process represents a more advanced manufacturing technique. It utilizes nitrogen gas atomization—hence the alternative name, "nitrogen atomization." This method operates within a fully enclosed, closed-loop system, where compressed nitrogen gas is forced through a nozzle, breaking down molten aluminum into microscopic droplets. These droplets are then rapidly cooled by the nitrogen gas, solidifying into spherical aluminum powder. After screening and grading, the powder undergoes baghouse dust collection to ensure purity. At Xuyang, we specifically employ the nitrogen atomization method to produce our spherical aluminum powder. This process not only ensures superior product quality but also delivers higher safety standards, resulting in spherical aluminum powder that maintains excellent performance and boasts an exceptionally long shelf life. That’s all for today’s insights into the manufacturing process of spherical aluminum powder. Stay tuned for more exciting content in our next article!