LEWISTON — Elmet Technologies announced Monday that it has been granted a patent for tungsten heavy metal alloy powders by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Elmet Technologies is the largest U.S.-based producer of tungsten and molybdenum materials and products, with more than 400 employees in three states since its acquisition of competitor H.C. Stark Solutions in November 2023.

Tungsten is the strongest metal in the world with the highest tensile strength. It’s very dense and has the highest melting point of any metal. It has traditional applications in industrial furnaces but is also used in semiconductors and medical equipment and has growing applications in the aerospace, defense and health care industries.

According to Elmet, the technology in the patent issued July 15 addresses a longstanding challenge in metal additive manufacturing: producing highly pure, flowable powders that retain their shape and properties under extreme processing conditions.

Those alloy powders, which are 90% tungsten, are combined with one or more additional elements like nickel, iron, copper, cobalt and manganese, and may also include trace amounts of impurities.

The patent summary explains that the process developed by Elmet allows it to produce flowable agglomerate particles, or particles that are a blend of the metals and not individual metals. Because it is flowable, the powder can be fed through a powder feeder and the alloy particles can be used to form a 3D part using a 3D printer.

Three inventors are listed on the patent document: Michael T. Stawovy, who is also the director of research and development at Elmet, Scott D. Ohm and Fahrron C. Fill. This is the fifth patent in this field granted to Elmet Technologies.

“Our approach enhances the production of tungsten heavy alloy powders with exceptional flowability and chemical uniformity — features essential to achieving repeatable, high-quality parts through additive manufacturing,” Stawovy said in a news release.