Metal Powder Works to Scale Non-Thermal Powder Production From 100 to 800 Tons by 2027

The Non-Thermal Approach

For powder bed fusion and other additive processes, feedstock quality is the variable engineers struggle most to control. Metal Powder Works has built its position on a different route to that quality: the patented, non-thermal DirectPowder process for manufacturing metal 3D printing powders.

The distinction matters. By removing the thermal step from powder production, Metal Powder Works positions DirectPowder as a route to high-quality and defect-free powder feedstock — the kind of consistency that aerospace, defence, maritime, and energy customers demand when qualifying parts for critical service.

CEO John Barnes put the consistency argument bluntly in a recent appearance on the Additive Insight podcast:

'DirectPowder always gives you the same answer.'

Founded on Feedstock Quality

Metal Powder Works was founded in 2017 with a focused brief: deliver high-quality and defect-free powder feedstock to the aerospace, defence, maritime, and energy industries. These are sectors where powder defects propagate directly into part defects, and where qualification costs make consistency more valuable than novelty.

The portfolio has grown accordingly. The company now offers more than 30 powder products, giving engineers options across applications without leaving the DirectPowder production route.

The Scale-Up Question

The harder test comes next. Metal Powder Works has announced plans to scale production from 100 tons per year to 800 tons per year by the middle of 2027 — an eightfold increase in output.

That is where the non-thermal claim will be proven or broken. Scaling powder production while holding "the same answer" on quality is precisely the challenge that has caught out additive feedstock suppliers before. Consistency at 100 tons is a process achievement; consistency at 800 tons is a manufacturing system.

What to Watch

For manufacturing professionals evaluating powder suppliers, the DirectPowder story now has two measurable checkpoints: the expanding materials portfolio — already past 30 products — and the production ramp to 800 tons per year by the middle of 2027.