Partnership scope: Continuum Powders and Mastrex will validate Continuum's metal powders on Mastrex's MX series of laser powder bed fusion machines.
- Material roadmap: Initial focus on cobalt chrome, Ti-6Al-4V, and 17-4 stainless steel, with nickel-based superalloys and copper-nickel alloys planned later.
- Machine portfolio: Mastrex's six-strong range of metal powder bed fusion systems, with varied build volumes and laser configurations, will receive optimised processing parameters and repeatable print performance.
- Customer benefit: The work aims to cut the time and resources customers need to introduce new materials, complementing Mastrex's focus on lowering the price barrier to metal 3D printing.
- Future collaboration: Both companies expect a broad technical partnership, including shared technical updates, application data, and customer success stories.
The Announcement
Continuum Powders and Mastrex have announced a strategic partnership to evaluate and validate Continuum's metal powder materials for use on Mastrex's MX series of laser powder bed fusion machines. The collaboration targets a pain point familiar to anyone running metal AM: getting a new material qualified and into production without burning months of internal development time.
The initial validation efforts will focus on cobalt chrome, Ti-6Al-4V, and 17-4 stainless steel. Nickel-based superalloys and copper-nickel alloys are planned later in the roadmap.
What the Work Involves
Together, the two companies will optimise processing parameters and establish repeatable print performance across the MX portfolio. Mastrex has developed a six-strong portfolio of metal powder bed fusion systems, spanning a variety of build volumes and laser configurations — meaning parameter sets validated on one platform need to translate across machines with meaningfully different hardware.
As the work proceeds, the companies will assess powder behaviour, processing conditions, build consistency, and material performance. The stated goal: reduce the time and resources required for customers to introduce a new material.
Why It Matters
Mastrex has built its market position on lowering the barrier of entry to metal 3D printing, focusing primarily on the price point of its products. Validated material-machine pairings extend that logic — a low-cost machine is of limited use if every new alloy demands a costly qualification campaign.
"One of the biggest barriers to broader adoption of additive manufacturing isn't a lack of innovation – it's reducing the effort required for customers to confidently implement new materials and technologies," said Jon Cozens, CEO of Continuum Powders.
Cozens emphasised the importance of creating a seamless path from material selection and process development through to successful production.
"Customers are looking for complete manufacturing solutions, not disconnected pieces of the process," said Ilay Fridland, Partner for Mastrex.
Fridland noted that close collaboration allows Mastrex to optimise materials alongside its LPBF platforms, helping customers adopt new applications with greater confidence while reducing development effort.
What Comes Next
Both parties describe this as only the start of the partnership. A broad technical collaboration is expected, with technical updates, application data, and customer success stories to be shared as progress is made.
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