Houston, TX, Aug. 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Continuum Powders today announced the commercial availability of its OptiPowder M247 and M247LC nickel superalloy powders, providing additive manufacturing users with a high-performance alloys historically limited to investment casting. By optimizing M247 for binder jetting and other non-LPBF additive manufacturing platforms, Continuum is enabling engineers to leverage its exceptional high-temperature performance without the long lead times and tooling costs of traditional casting.
M247 is a precipitation-hardenable, nickel-based superalloy engineered for service in extreme environments, delivering superior creep resistance, thermal stability, and oxidation resistance at temperatures up to 980 °C (1800 °F). These properties make it a material of choice for hot-section components in gas turbine engines, industrial power generation systems, and other critical applications where prolonged exposure to elevated temperature and corrosive gases can cause rapid material degradation.
Breaking the Casting Barrier
“Mar-M247 has always been a powerful material—but it’s been locked behind slow, expensive casting for too long,” said Rob Higby, Chief Executive Officer at Continuum Powders. “By offering OptiPowder M247, a binder-jet-ready version made from certified aerospace scrap, we’re giving manufacturers a faster, more flexible, and ESG-aligned alternative—while maintaining the mechanical strength and consistency they depend on.”
Through its proprietary Melt-to-Powder (M2P) process, Continuum transforms high-value reclaimed aerospace-grade scrap into powder that meets stringent cleanliness and particle morphology standards. The process preserves alloy integrity while minimizing oxygen pickup, ensuring consistent performance across multiple builds.
Expanded Manufacturing Possibilities
“Our M247 offering changes the economics and accessibility of this alloy for advanced manufacturing,” said Sunil Badwe, Vice President of Technology at Continuum Powders. “We’ve qualified specific powder recipes for leading binder jetting platforms, enabling OEMs to produce complex geometries and consolidated assemblies that were previously impractical with casting. These powders can also be adapted for other powder metallurgy routes, from metal injection molding (MIM) to hot isostatic pressing (HIP) of near-net shapes.”
Binder jetting M247 allows for rapid iteration and prototyping of turbine blades, heat shields, combustor liners, blisks and other high-value parts without the multi-year investment in hard tooling. Combined with downstream densification techniques such as HIP, final parts can achieve densities exceeding 99.9%, with mechanical properties comparable to or exceeding their cast counterparts.
Sustainability and Supply Chain Resilience
Continuum’s reclaimed feedstock approach supports circular manufacturing by reducing the demand for virgin material extraction and lowering overall lifecycle emissions. This model not only mitigates raw material volatility but also provides OEMs with a secure, U.S.-based supply of critical superalloy powders.
With the expansion of OptiPowder M247 availability, Continuum Powders continues its mission to deliver high-performance metal powder solutions that improve part quality, enhance supply chain resiliency, and enable more sustainable manufacturing practices.
About Continuum Powders
Continuum Powders delivers certified metal powder solutions engineered for performance, reliability, and sustainability. From sourcing powder to ensuring consistent availability and building a circular supply chain, we support manufacturers through trusted partnerships and advanced metal reclamation capabilities.
For more information, visit continuumpowders.com
- Continuum Powders OptiPowder M247