With POWDERMET2017 and AMPM2017 just around the corner, the powder metallurgy (PM) industry is packing bags and hopping flights to the bright city lights of the famous Las Vegas Strip. What is on the agenda for attendees this year?

GKN Aerospace and the U.S. Energy Department's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have signed a five-year research agreement focused on additive manufacturing (AM). Under the agreement, GKN is developing a large-scale AM process that could significantly improve the manufacture of large titanium aerospace components.

Canada's McGill University believes that metal powders could be the key to clean energy in the future.

For the last 20 years, researchers at McGill have been studying how metal powders, such as iron, could be used as an alternative fuel source that produces zero carbon emissions. When burned, these powders are capable of producing more energy than an equivalent volume of gasoline. In lieu of carbon dioxide, the process releases only iron oxide, or rust, which is environmentally benign. What's more, the exhaust can be collected...