A leading additive manufacturer recently came to Elcan with a challenge; their ultrasonic recycle box, used to recover titanium powder, was rejecting a large amount of material that still fell within usable specifications. The client required a solution that could efficiently recover fine titanium powders, maintain particle uniformity, and prevent contamination, all without slowing down production.
Like many companies in the industry, the sieving and recycle equipment that was provided with the printer was not only unable to keep up with production, but it was also not capable of sieving at the powders original spec. To make up for these shortcomings, customers have been told to “cheat the hole” by using a larger mesh size than the powder specification requires. It was the only solution that would give them any sort of output.
Unfortunately, doing so introduces particles outside the original specification, which can cause inconsistent melt pools, surface defects, or even print failures down the road. Furthermore, even with the larger mesh opening, they still experienced blinded screens, slow throughput rates and a loss of good powder into the reject lots.
Thankfully, they came across Elcan Industries’ website advertising a unique advanced sieving technology enables customers to sieve exactly to their original powder specifications, whether that is 74 µm, 44 µm, or 32 µm, which is precisely how powder recovery should be done. The system, known as the Hi-Sifter, claimed higher throughput rates and efficiencies without using ultrasonics, which blind and are costly to rescreen. Intrigued by these claims, and the systems patented “tensionless mesh”, they decided to schedule trials to see for themselves.
Titanium Recycle Trial
The Elcan team ran the test on their Hi-Sifter 1001mm, targeting titanium powder with an original spec of 44-micron. The goal was simple: recover as much usable -44 µm material as possible from the rejected batch while maintaining the powder’s additive-grade quality.
Within a single pass, the Hi-Sifter achieved a 96.3% recovery rate of the -44 µm powder, an exceptional result that set a new standard for what is possible in metal powder recycling. Even more impressive, the machine ran at a commercial-scale throughput of 780 kgs per hour (for context, their sieve was barely running 50 kgs/hour at 88 microns), demonstrating that this was not a lab test but true production-level performance.
The Results
Using the Hi-Sifter, 51% of material initially deemed oversize was recovered as usable feedstock. The energy of the screen kept the titanium particles in motion, eliminating any and all screen mesh blinding and maintaining continuous flow throughout the test. No ultrasonics were required, and there were no signs of contamination, only clean, on-spec titanium powder ready for reuse.
Particle Size Distribution
Feed Material:
Dv(10): 30.0 µm
Dv(50): 93.3 µm
Dv(90): 196 µm
Recovered Powder:
Dv(10): 49.6 µm
Dv(50): 72.2 µm
Dv(90): 138 µm
The data shows that the Hi-Sifter effectively removed oversized particles while preserving the fine fractions necessary for additive manufacturing. The recovered powder’s tighter distribution proves it was not only reusable but still well within the parameters for 3D printing feedstock.Why Does the Hi-Sifter Outperform Conventional Systems?
Ultrasonic recycle boxes are widely used in additive manufacturing, but their low-energy motion often fails to keep dense powders like titanium fluidized. This causes major screen blinding, loss of throughput, and large amounts of usable material being rejected. Over time, the moving parts in those systems can wear down and contaminate the powder.
The Hi-Sifter avoids all of these issues through its vertical high-energy motion, which keeps particles suspended and evenly distributed across the mesh surface. There are no rotating parts, no transducers, no balls or sliders and no degradation over time. The result is a pure and consistent high-yield recovery process that consistently produces powder within spec, batch after batch.
Real-World Impact
For additive manufacturers, the economic impact of this improvement is enormous. Titanium powder can cost upwards of $200 per kilogram. At that price, reclaiming 51 percent of material that would otherwise be scrapped represents thousands of dollars and even hundreds of thousands saved per large scale production cycle. Beyond the cost savings, it also aligns with sustainability goals by minimizing waste and reducing the demand for virgin powder production.
The Bigger Picture
Elcan Industries has long been at the forefront of powder recovery and classification, helping companies process materials at micron sizes few others can reach. With the Hi-Sifter achieving precision down to 10µm and the Elbow-Jet Air Classifier capable of classifying down to 0.5 µm, Elcan has proven it can handle even the most demanding applications in additive manufacturing, energy, and aerospace.
Recovering over 96 percent of titanium powder in a single pass is more than just a case study. It is undeniable proof that the right technology can turn what was once waste into opportunity. As the industry continues to move toward efficiency and sustainability, Elcan Industries Hi-Sifter sieving results set a new benchmark for performance and reliability in metal powder recovery.
Contact us to learn more about Elcan’s high-yield screening and powder recovery technologies
