Continuum Powders and Mastrex Team Up to Validate Sustainable Metal Powders

Metal additive manufacturing has a powder problem. The process works, but the supply chain for high-performance feedstock is expensive, geographically concentrated, and environmentally heavy. Continuum Powders, a developer of recycled and reclaimed metal powders, is trying to change that equation. Its new partnership with LPBF printer manufacturer Mastrex is a concrete step toward proving that sustainable powders can meet the standards of production-grade metal 3D printing.

What the Partnership Covers

The collaboration will start with three widely used materials: Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy, 17-4 stainless steel, and cobalt chrome. Continuum will supply its atomized powders, produced through its proprietary Greyhound Melt-to-Powder platform, and Mastrex will validate build performance across its MX-series printers. The two companies plan to measure powder behavior, build consistency, processing conditions, and final part performance. The goal is to produce repeatable, documented print parameters that manufacturers can trust for end-use parts.

Mastrex and Continuum both describe the effort as the start of a broader strategic relationship, not a one-off validation study. After the initial three materials are qualified, the partnership will expand to copper-nickel alloys and nickel-based superalloys. The companies also intend to share application data, technical updates, and customer success stories as additional materials pass qualification milestones.

Why Sustainable Powder Matters Now

Traditional metal powder production relies on virgin ore, multiple remelting stages, and long supply chains. Continuum's approach uses reclaimed high-grade scrap, failed builds, and excess inventory as feedstock for its plasma atomization process. The company claims its nickel powder production reduces carbon emissions by up to 99.7 percent compared to conventional virgin powder manufacturing, according to a third-party life cycle assessment by Oregon State University.

The numbers are striking, but the real barrier has always been qualification. Aerospace, medical, and industrial buyers need certified materials with traceable chemistry and repeatable behavior. A partnership with an established printer maker like Mastrex is the kind of validation that turns a sustainability story into a sourcing option.

The Bigger Picture

Metal AM is moving from prototyping to production, and that shift makes powder quality and supply chain resilience more important than ever. If Mastrex can publish reliable process parameters for Continuum's recycled powders, other printer makers will likely follow. A certified sustainable powder that meets the same performance bar as virgin material would give manufacturers a way to reduce cost and carbon footprint without changing their entire workflow.

Continuum Powders has been building its technology for years. This partnership with Mastrex is the first major printer-maker validation that puts those powders on a path toward mainstream production use.